Vampire Diaries: Evanna-Verse 2
by ThatBrownEyedIrishGirl
Summary: Season 2. Katherine is back in Mystic Falls, but everyone soon finds out that she is not the biggest threat. Between an ancient prophecy and Damon, Evanna has her hands full.
1. Chapter 1

**Vampire Diaries**

**Season 2**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Woo! I've managed to update. This is the first chapter of season 2, enjoy!**

* * *

The key was jammed in the lock the second Evanna reached the door.

Alaric ran up behind her just as she pushed it open, and they ran inside.

"Elena!" She called into the house, and heard Elena respond from the kitchen.

Running in, she skidded to a halt by the door, assessing the situation. With a gasp, she dropped down beside John, her hands hovering over him. Elena had pressed a towel down on his hand, and Evanna was quick to put pressure on his abdominal wound.

Behind them, Alaric was busy calling an ambulance.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"Hi, I-I need an ambulance to 2104 Maple Street. There's been an accident."

Evanna turned to Elena,"What happened?"

"I don't know, I only got in five minutes ago and found him here."

"Where's Jeremy?"

"Upstairs, I think."

"Alaric, go check on him."

The man nodded, and bolted up the stairs.

She saw the wave of fear cross over John's face, his skin unusually pale, and felt that icy cold feeling settle in her chest.

"Elena, grab this."

Elena nodded meekly, moving to push down on the towel after wrapping his hand up.

Evanna stood up slowly, and grabbed the bloody knife off the counter, pushing down the nausea that rose at seeing the severed fingers on the counter top.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked.

Evanna didn't answer her, walking towards the hallway with the knife.

She felt something nudge her back, and whirled around, only to see a flash of something run around her and jump when the front door slammed behind her.

Katherine was gone.

Still gripping the knife, she looked up when she heard Alaric's boots thundering down the stairs.

"Evanna, it's Jeremy..."

* * *

Evanna paced back and forth in the hospital hallway, waiting for Jenna to arrive.

John would be fine, and they were stitching his hand back together, her parents were with him, and her siblings were at Sheila's for the night.

Elena was at home with Stefan, babysitting Jeremy; the vampire wannabe.

Evanna shook her head, running a manicured hand through her curly hair. She couldn't believe Jeremy.

Evanna knew he was grieving, but he wanted to be a vampire? What insane logic was that?

Behind her, the double doors opened, and Evanna turned to see Meredith. The redhead hurried towards her.

"Hey. You're here."

"Yeah. Why are you here?"

"There was a car accident. Matt and Tyler are okay, but Caroline... she's not doing so good. They don't think she's gonna make it." Meredith said softly.

Evanna felt like she was frozen, and she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears,"What?"

Meredith nodded slowly, and pulled her into a hug.

Evanna pulled back,"How did this happen?"

"Matt said they were driving and Tyler heard this noise and he got…"

"A noise?"

Meredith nodded,"He got this migraine or something and he lost control of the car and ... I thought that Caroline was fine and then ... and then she wasn't so ..."

Evanna ran her hands over her face,"Oh, okay, uh, maybe there's something I can do? A spell, or ...?"

"You can't." Another voice said from the doorway,"You don't have that kind of power yet."

Evanna glanced up as Damon joined the two girls in the corridor, and grumbled,"I can take down a vampire..."

"Evanna, it took _years_ for Emily to learn that kind of magic."

"There has to be something," Evanna said desperately,"It's Caroline."

Damon pursed his lips,"I can give her some of my blood."

Evanna's eyes widened; after Jeremy's stunt?

"No..."

"Just enough to heal her. She will be safe in the hospital and it will be out of her system in a day."

"And what if she doesn't make it, and then she turns? It's too risky."

"Do it."

Evanna and Damon's eyes snapped to Meredith, both surprised.

Meredith nodded,"It's Caroline, we should at least try."

Evanna locked eyes with her best friend and inhaled deeply,"Okay. But _just _enough to heal her."

"Scout's honor." Damon disappeared, and returned only a few minutes later.

"It's done."

Meredith nodded, and turned on her heel,"I'm gonna go check on Matt."

"I'll be down in a little while." Evanna called after her, and then sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"What happened to your head?"

Evanna frowned, and then felt a twinge of pain above her left eyebrow. Reaching up, she winced as her fingertips brushed across the gash on her forehead.

"Unrelated," She shook her head,"Sorta. We can't talk here. Public place."

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now..." Damon began quietly,"... but we should talk about what happened tonight. We _kissed_, Evanna."

Evanna opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Jenna, who strode quickly up to them.

Damon stood back a little as Evanna hugged Jenna tightly,"Where were you?"

"At the fire department, I had to fill out a report. I told Elena earlier."

"When was this?" Evanna asked slowly.

"Uh... about ten, maybe. Why?"

Evanna tried to remember back; she had gotten home around eleven, and Elena had said she hadn't been home for long.

Which meant Jenna hadn't been talking to Elena.

"Jenna, what happened when you were leaving?"

"I opened the door and Elena was there, so I told her to come in, that I was heading down to the fire department, and left. Evanna, what's going on?"

"Nothing. My head's just messed up right now."

Jenna nodded sympathetically,"Go home, get some sleep. We'll handle things here."

"I'll drive her home." Damon said, and even if Jenna wasn't overjoyed at the thought, she nodded thankfully.

Evanna remained quiet as she followed Damon out into the parking lot. She had rode in the ambulance anyway, and with a paranoid sweep of the eyes around the parking lot, she climbed into Damon's car.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"Elena wasn't who Jenna was talking to."

"What are you... oh, you have got to be kidding me."

* * *

When they returned home, they saw that the living room was practically thrashed.

Stefan quickly explained that he knew Katherine was back, she had returned to the house and tried to fool him into believing she was Elena.

Evanna had to scoff; Elena had been upstairs the whole time.

Evanna switched the light off in Jeremy's bedroom, seeing that he was sound asleep, and sighed, heading back downstairs.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon was asking Stefan when she joined them in the kitchen.

"No."

"Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance."

"She said she fooled one of us, at least. What does that mean?"

"She pretended to be Elena too when I was at the Grill with Evanna earlier."

"Neither of us knew," Evanna added, sitting down.

"And she attacked Evanna." Stefan concluded, staring at the gash on her forehead,"Something must have provoked her. What happened tonight when you were with Evanna?"

Evanna locked eyes with Damon who stood partially behind her, straightening up in her seat.

He wasn't going to fess up, was he?

Damon pursed his lips,"Well, to risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead. We... kissed."

"_What?_ "

"Well, you know, when two lips pucker and they go..." Damon puckered his lips and made kissy noises, earning a slap to the arm from Evanna.

Stefan glanced at her, raising an eyebrow and she shook her head.

"I told Meredith what's going on," Elena walked in, breaking the silence,"She should know."

Stefan nodded, squeezing Elena's shoulder gently,"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not alright. I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone things would get better. "

"I know. We all did."

"Katherine was in this house, that means she's been invited in, what are we gonna do?"

Damon shrugged, leaning against the archway,"Move."

"Oh, sure, I hear Australia is nice this time of year..." Evanna rolled her eyes,"Very helpful."

"If Katherine wants you dead; there's zero you can do about it; you would be dead but you're not." Damon pointed out,"So clearly she has other plans."

"Right and we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her _further _in the process." Stefan said, sending a pointed look to both Damon and Evanna.

"John must know something." Evanna continued, ignoring Stefan's look.

Elena nodded,"There has to be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him."

"She's Katherine." Damon scoffed,"She _loves_ to play games and you're fooling yourself if you think you're going to find out what she's been up to before she wants you to know."

"No, actually the girls are right, John could know something through Isobel." Stefan locked eyes with Elena,"Your mother, she was in touch with Katherine so maybe we can go to the hospital and get him to talk. "

"I've got a better idea."

Evanna glanced over her shoulder at him,"What's that?"

"I'm just gonna ignore the bitch. See you."

Evanna stood up,"Woah, wait. Is that smart?"

Damon turned back around,"If Katherine thinks she's been ignored it will lure her out, she'll make a move."

"Yeah? And then what?" Stefan asked, folding his arms dubiously.

"Stake her; rip her head off, something poetic. We'll see."

* * *

"You've been here all night?" Evanna asked, greeting Matt the next morning with a hug and a styrofoam cup of coffee.

"Yeah, with the sheriff." Matt nodded.

"No one else?"

"Stefan's brother Damon stopped by late last night. And Meredith stayed until 3 AM."

Evanna nodded,"How is Caroline today?"

A smile broke out on Matt's face,"See for yourself."

Matt led her into Caroline's room, where the blonde was sitting up in bed, watching tv.

Caroline smiled as if nothing had happened,"Jersey Shore's on."

Evanna hugged her.

"Careful, still a little sore."

"Sorry." Evanna loosened her grip, but Caroline pulled her back.

"It's okay but they say I'm healing really quick."

"My turn." Matt grinned, kissing Caroline on the lips.

"Oh, isn't he cute? Evanna, why are you teary-eyed?

"I'm just happy you're okay."

Caroline beamed as Evanna hugged her again and Matt wrapped his arms around the both of them.

"Oh, I love you guys!" She squealed.

Evanna laughed, sharing a happy look with Matt.

"We love you, too."

* * *

After spending a little time with Caroline, Evanna attended the memorial for Mayor Lockwood.

The whole town had turned out.

He had been affected by the device, but the reason was still unknown.

Nearly everyone dressed in black, Evanna being one of them. Her hair was curled perfectly, hanging down. She wore black skinny jeans, a red tank top, black leather boots and a black leather jacket.

Sheila arrived at the same time that she, Jenna and Jeremy did. Elena and Stefan were still at the hospital, interrogating John, and Evanna's family had already returned to Richmond.

"Sheila." Jenna greeted in surprise,"I didn't know you were coming."

"I'm not staying long."

"You and I have the same idea."

Evanna spotted Damon standing on the porch, and excused herself. She was worried about him, and her concern showed on her face.

"Hey... how're you doing?"

"Great, Evanna. Walking on sunshine."

"Damon..."

"_Evanna_..." He copied.

"You're hurt, okay? I get it. Katherine's back in town, a lot is going on -"

"I don't get hurt, Evanna."

"No, you don't _admit _that you get hurt. You get angry and cover it up, and then you do something stupid."

"You're scared." Damon realized, a lazy, humorless smirk appearing on his face,"You think Katherine is gonna send me off the deep end, don't you? I don't need her for that."

Damon walked passed her and then stopped,"Why is it such a surprise that I'd kiss you?"

Evanna faltered, and then looked around them at the people passing by,"Can we not do this here?"

Damon shrugged, walking inside.

Evanna huffed sadly and followed him inside,"Did you know that the device affected Mayor Lockwood?"

"Well, I knew it took him down."

"Don't you want to know why?"

"Yes Evanna, I would _love_ to know why a non-vampire was tortured by the vampire torture device that John Gilbert used against us. How's Caroline?"

"Better. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Have you talked to the Sheriff?"

"She doesn't know why the device affected him. Besides, her and Carole are having a cat fight."

Evanna was about to speak but Tyler came up behind her,"Hey."

"Ty, I was just going to look for you. How're you doing?"

"Dealing. Thanks for coming."

"As if I wouldn't." She said, and accepted the hug he gave her.

Damon nodded at him,"Sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

Another man came up then and he grinned at her,"Well look at you, little Evanna Gilbert."

"Mason. Nice to see you again."

"Mason just got in." Tyler explained, a genuine smile on his face.

"I was talking to your Grams earlier. I heard you've been in town a few months now."

"Since September. So, four months now?"

* * *

Conversation returned to pleasantries until Evanna spotted Elena outside and excused herself.

Mason began talking to Damon as Tyler got called off by his mother.

"Hey," Evanna smiled at her cousin,"How'd it go?"

"Which part?"

"The talking to John part. Did you and Stefan get anywhere?"

"Oh, no, not really. It was tough."

Evanna nodded and set a hand on Elena's arm in comfort.

She felt that icy cold feeling hit her again and sighed.

_Great..._

"Are you okay?" Katherine asked her, still feigning the Elena act.

"Uh, yeah. I just realized that I didn't talk to Mrs. Lockwood yet. I'll be back."

Evanna headed back inside, in search of Damon. Instead, as she turned a corner, she bumped into Katherine again.

"So, we haven't _officially _met. I'm Katherine."

"I'm aware."

"Of course you are. You're the witchy cousin. I've been putting all aspects of Elena's life together. Isobel told me it was a bit of a puzzle. I do know who Jenna, Meredith and Jeremy are and I met that delicious ex-boyfriend Matt, who's sweet on Caroline, and then there's you, the Bennett witch. Did I do good?"

"Exceptional. What do you want?"

"I can't say that. That's cheating, Evanna. You know, I expected Stefan and Damon to fight over Elena; Damon was so hung up on me. Instead, I find that he's hung up on _you_."

"Save it. I'm not going to humor you."

"Of course not. Isobel told me about you. She was almost ... scared of you. It was intriguing."

Stefan appeared then and Katherine smiled,"Stefan!"

"Leave Evanna alone." He told her, making Katherine frown.

"We were just getting to know eachother. It's not like I hurt her, Stefan."

"Even so, leave her alone."

"Okay," Katherine shrugged, leaving the room.

Stefan and Evanna shared a look before he followed Katherine out.

Evanna turned back and continued the search for Damon.

* * *

She found her Grams first, standing with the real Elena and Jeremy,"Hey, we have a problem."

"What?"

"Katherine's here. She's pretending to be Elena."

Elena gasped softly,"What? Is that where Stefan went?"

"Katherine cornered me. He probably heard her talking."

Sheila's face was flooded with concern,"Did she hurt you?"

"No, and I don't think she was planning to either. Still, we should probably clear out. If people see Katherine and then Elena, they'll realise something's up."

* * *

Jeremy stayed behind to keep an eye out for Katherine, while the three females took a walk down a gravel path at the back of the Lockwood estate.

"Wow," Sheila spoke,"A lot has changed, huh?"

Evanna snorted,"Grams, a lot has changed in the past _two days_."

"It's true." Elena giggled in agreement.

"So, Elena, how'd you find out about Evanna's powers?"

"She used them to cheer me up after Stefan and I broke up."

"Oh, the 'break-up of Stelena'." Evanna cried dramatically,"Not two weeks I'd like to relive. Elena was all 'I miss Stefan' and Stefan was all 'I miss Elena'. It was unbearable."

Elena gasped, hitting her cousin playfully,"Shut up! We weren't that bad."

"No? I was like the child in the middle of the messy divorce. You both kept asking _me _how the other was. I was a carrier pigeon."

"But a pretty one." Elena cooed teasingly.

Evanna nodded,"Duh."

* * *

The good mood dissolved when Elena spotted her boyfriend crouched over on the ground.

"Oh, my God! Stefan!"

"What happened?" Sheila asked, helping him to stand up.

Evanna grimaced at the blood on his shirt and reaching into her purse for her mini med-pack.

Elena helped him sit down, and took the cloth that Evanna offered.

"Katherine - with a tire iron." Stefan explained as Elena dabbed the blood away.

"You gonna be okay?" She asked him.

"It'll heal."

"Not what I meant."

"I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along and I let her get to me."

Jenna found them shortly after Stefan dropped home to get a new shirt.

"Hey, you girls ready to go?"

Elena and Evanna shared a look.

"Sure." Elena shrugged, sending a text to Stefan.

"Sheila, do you want to come over for dinner?"

"I'd love to."

* * *

When they arrived home, John was walking out the door, suitcase in uninjured hand.

"You're leaving?" Jenna asked him.

He nodded,"I'll be back in a few weeks."

Jenna walked inside the house to get a start on dinner. Alaric would be there soon.

"Aw, make sure to call. Bye-bye." Evanna chimed, smiling sarcastically.

"Evanna ... I know we haven't gotten a long while I've been here -"

"You're only realizing that now?"

"_But _I want you to promise that you'll be careful." He turned to Elena,"Both of you."

"I promise." Elena said, giving him a hug. John whispered in her ear,"I wish things could be different, I do."

John stared Evanna down, and Elena nudged her making her huff,"Fine, I promise. Be safe, I guess."

John smiled and pulled her into a quick hug before letting go and heading towards his car.

"I said nothing about physical contact! Now I'll have to shower for a week!"

John just laughed as he drove away.

Sheila smiled,"You're being childish."

Evanna looked at all three of them,"_Please_, I'm younger than the two of you and Anthony _is_ my father - I'm supposed to be childish!"

"

* * *

Don't forget, you three have a history test this Friday."

Elena, Jeremy and Evanna shared looks before staring at Alaric blankly.

He chuckled,"You forgot..."

"We've been busy!" Jeremy exclaimed, sipping his water.

Jenna laughed,"Doing what?"

Each of them fell silent, trying to come up with something.

"Elena and I have a project for Social Studies and Jeremy..."

"Has been helping me paint my house." Sheila jumped in, making Jeremy grin and nod.

"Yep, I'm an angel."

Evanna snorted, even though she didn't mean too.

Jeremy glanced at her as she bit her lip to hide her laughter,"Oh, yeah, and what's so funny?"

Elena began to laugh then, which ruined Evanna's composure.

Jeremy gasped,"Like you two are perfect."

"Exactly, we are. It's good that you're admitting it."

Alaric chuckled,"You're spending too much time around Damon."

"Tell me about it."

* * *

Evanna was upstairs in her bedroom when she heard a car pull up outside.

Glancing out her window, she saw Damon get out of his car and sighed, throwing on a zip up hoodie over her pyjama pants and slipping on a pair of uggs.

She fixed her hair before opening the front door, and joining him on the porch.

"Hey."

"Hey..." He greeted slowly.

"What are you doing here? It's late."

"Just doing my part in the neighborhood watch."

Evanna smiled softly,"Thanks for looking out for us."

"That's me, the trusty bodyguard - calm in crisis."

"Are you drunk?"

"A little."

Evanna sighed,"You should go home. Sleep it off. I'll call Stefan to come pick you up."

"You didn't answer my question earlier."

Evanna paused at the front door, turning around to face him again,"What?"

"I asked you why it was so surprising that I'd kiss you. You didn't answer."

"Damon -"

"You're surprised that I'd kiss you? You can't imagine that I'd want to?" He stood up and advanced towards her,"That what we've been doing here ... means something? You're the liar, Evanna. There is something going on between the two of us and you know it. And you're lying to me, and you're lying to your friends and more importantly, you're lying to yourself."

"Damon, stop. Just, hold on, okay?" Evanna took a deep breath,"I care about you, I do. You're my friend. By nature, we're supposed to hate each other. Witches and vampires were never supposed to be friends, let alone more. We're already pushing it, Damon. I don't want to lose you, but... we can never go down that road. I'm sorry."

Damon nodded slightly, chuckling bitterly,"It'd be easier if you hated me, huh?"

The front door opened before she could disagree, and Jeremy appeared,"Evanna, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Jer, go back to bed. It's okay."

"No," Damon shook his head,"It's not okay."

Evanna frowned,"What?"

"He wants to be a vampire."

Damon rushed towards Jeremy, pushing him back into the house, and slamming him into the wall and holding him there by the neck.

"Damon, stop it!" Evanna followed them inside, closing the front door.

"You want to turn off the pain? It's the easiest thing in the world. The part of you that cares just goes away, all you have to do is flip the switch and snap!"

In one swift motion, Damon snapped Jeremy's neck. Jeremy slumped to the ground.

"No!" Evanna screamed, dropping to her knees beside him.

Damon turned back and looked at her.

Guilt and realization seemed to dawn on him, before the cold mask came back up and he left.

* * *

Evanna brushed Jeremy's hair away from his face, crying and rocking him gently.

She noticed something shimmer under the lamplight and picked up his hand.

Jeremy was wearing a ring; the same one that Alaric and John had.

Jeremy would come back.

* * *

Evanna left him on the ground for a second, wiping her eyes as she knocked on Elena's bedroom door.

She rounded up Elena and Alaric and brought them to her room, and soon enough, Stefan was there.

Elena was holding Jeremy this time, inside the living room, while Alaric and Stefan watched Evanna pace in the kitchen.

"He saw the ring that's why he did it, he knew." Stefan told her, but she shook her head,"He didn't see the ring."

"It's Katherine. She got under his skin, she undid everything that was good about him." Alaric tried, but it just made Evanna pull up and she frowned.

"There's nothing good about him. Not anymore. He's just decided what he wants. He doesn't want to feel, he just wants to be hated, it's just easier that way. He got his wish."

Elena called for them and they rushed back inside.

Jeremy was coughing and spluttering, but _alive_.

Stefan took his face and stared into his eyes; Anna's blood might not have left his system.

"Is he okay?" Elena asked, and finally Stefan nodded his head,"Yeah."

"He killed _me_! Damon _killed _me!"

"Jer, it's okay." Elena soothed, hugging him tightly.

Evanna sat down beside them and the three Gilbert kids embraced. Evanna sighed.

"It's over now."

* * *

Everyone returned to their respective rooms, Stefan going with Elena.

Evanna tried to sleep, and eventually fell into a restless slumber at three A.M. but woke up again at five.

She went down to the kitchen to get a drink, and on the way up, she heard faint noises coming from Jeremy's room.

The door was cracked, and she popped her head around to see her cousin playing a video game.

"Hey..."

He looked up and smiled gently,"What are you doing up?"

"Can't sleep." She answered, perching on the side of his bed,"You?"

"Same."

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Enough."

Jeremy offered her the second controller,"Like old times?"

Evanna remembered back to when they were younger, when Evanna would sleepover, and unable to sleep, would find Jeremy awake too. The two cousins spent those nights playing video games. Just like old times.

Evanna laughed softly and took it,"As in, I beat you?"

"You can try, Ava."

Jeremy set up the multi-player version as Evanna conversed,"Jer ... you understand why Elena and I didn't tell you about everything, right?"

"Because of what happened?"

"Yes. We're family, and we lied to you, and we feel terrible for doing it. But, we had no other choice."

"Evanna, it's okay. I was angry but ... I get it now. I would've done the same thing."

"We're kinda a protective family."

"Just a smidgen."


	2. Chapter 2

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Hey, again!I tried to update yesterday before my sister's 21st, but I didn't get to, so here it is. Enjoy :)**

**MoonlightShine: **Ah, my accent's not that great :P I'm sticking to the storyline, but I'm adding in different things. I have something planned for the end of season 3, which I know is a little ways away, but I think people will like it. _Hopefully._

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved, followed etc. You guys are awesome!**

**Note for future reference: Typing with fake nails is not advisable! I have never been so frustrated.**

* * *

Seeing as they were the first two up, they decided to make breakfast for everyone else - they got bored.

"Jeremy, ew!" Evanna squealed, watching Jeremy blend a pancake in the blender.

He poured the mush into a glass and held it out for her,"Thirsty?"

"Never again. You're not seriously going to dr - you're drinking it."

Jeremy took a mouthful and a second later spit it into a sink.

Evanna scrunched up her face in disgust,"Was that nice?"

Jeremy turned his head to her, his own face scrunched up,"I think I killed my taste buds."

Evanna picked up the blender cup and poured the rest out, washing it, drying it and putting it back.

"Sixteen years old and still a _genius_ ... it's nice how things never change."

"Ha, ha." Jeremy glared sarcastically, sitting down at the breakfast counter with his plate.

Jenna came down in her pajamas, Alaric close behind, similarly clad.

She stopped, rubbed her eyes and glanced around the kitchen again,"Have we been visited by elves?"

"We couldn't sleep, and we tied in Soul Caliber. So, now we're here."

"I didn't know you could cook." Alaric said, accepting the plate she offered.

Jenna nodded,"She learned from the best. Her mother is the best cook."

"Too bad she didn't pass it down to Raina and or Noel."

Both Jenna and Jeremy grimaced at the exact same time.

* * *

"So I understand John Gilbert has left town. Have they found the vampire that attacked him?" Carol inquired, nervously twisting the wedding ring on her finger as she talked to Damon the next morning.

"Well, the sheriff has asked me to take the lead on that and I promise you I will get to the bottom of it."

"Which brings me to my next subject. With Richard gone, I'll be acting as interim mayor until the elections and I'm going to need someone to spearhead out the council. I'd like that person to be you."

Damon raised an eyebrow, and nodded,"Whatever you need Carol. As a founding family member it's something that's very close to me so I would be honored to help keep this town safe from vampires."

The front door opened, and from the kitchen, Damon could hear Mason and Tyler talking.

With a nod in the hallway's direction, Damon asked,"Is it safe to talk?"

"It's just my brother-in-law, Mason." Carol waved off,"He's still visiting. I just don't want him to hear us. He didn't want any part of the council when he lived here and I see no reason to bring him into it now."

Damon nodded, turning into his supernatural hearing in order to eavesdrop.

"What was that? Like seven?" He heard Tyler ask.

"Six." Mason laughed,"I don't count the last one. You crawled it."

"What?" Tyler's tone was incredulous.

"I think Grandma Lockwood actually passed you, in her walker."

"Yeah, okay. Shoes off. Mud, my mom..."

"Yeah, yeah."

Mason sat down,"So all this anger and aggression you're talking about, you notice a difference when you exercise?"

"Dude, I play 3 varsity sports. I work out 4 times a week and run 3, I'm gonna say no."

"Do you have episodes? What happens exactly?"

Tyler shrugged,"Starts out normal, I get angry typically over nothing. I'm an angry guy. I know it just amplifies and I just go off."

"You black out?"

"Yeah, it's like I go blind with rage."

"Is there a pattern? Like once a month, only at night?"

Tyler extended his arms, and shrugged again,"All I know is I lose myself, you know? For that time I become something else and I hate it."

"More tea? Damon?"

Damon's concentration broke, and he flashed Carol the most dazzling smile.

"Oh yes, please. Thank you Carol."

* * *

"Care for one?" Damon shook his empty glass in Stefan's direction before pouring himself a drink.

"No, thank you. I'm not hungry, just ate."

"Are you worried that one day, all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back? I mean, surely they talk."

Stefan rolled his eyes,"I'm just happy that's a blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner."

"I like this." Damon chuckled appreciatively,"You, walking on eggs shells around me because you think I'm gonna explode. Very suspenseful. Are Doppelganger and Baby Witch worried too? I bet I'm your every conversation."

"Have you heard from Katherine?" Stefan asked bluntly.

"I think the Lockwoods have a family secret because the Gilbert device affected them but vervain didn't so they're not vampires, they're something else." Damon deflected, narrowing his eyes suspiciously in thought.

"Is this your new obsession?"

"You'd rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant upon our town?" Damon shrugged,"Fine, I'll drop it."

"We haven't seen the last of Katherine, you do know that right? We have no idea what she's up to."

"Sure we do. She came back to profess her undying eternal love for you so I'm gonna let you deal with her because I have more important things to do like explode." Damon tipped his glass towards Stefan as he walked out,"Cheers!"

* * *

That evening found the gang at Robert Lee High.

The annual carnival was being held, and as students, they had a duty to help out.

Meredith, Elena and Evanna sat talking, preparing in the gym.

"It's weird without Caroline." Elena pouted, opening the lid of some yellow paint.

Evanna nodded in agreement as Meredith laughed,"No one's here to tell us how paint can clash."

The redhead then rounded back to their original conversation,"Katherine looked just like you, it was freakish."

Meredith had seen Katherine talking to Stefan at the Lockwood's the day before, but swore she saw Elena leaving with Evanna and Sheila. The pieces had clicked pretty fast.

"She is my ancestor. Hey, I moved the student booth into the cafeteria."

"Your vampire ancestor and she didn't just resemble you like a family member would. She was you."

Elena shrugged as they stood up, setting the banner on the steps to dry,"I don't know, I can't explain it. It's creepy, that's all I got."

Evanna was struck by a thought as she screwed the lid back on some paint,"How do we know she's not still out there pretending to be you?"

Elena ran a hand through her straight brown hair,"I don't, but I could sit here and be tortured by the not knowing or I could get these prizes to the ring toss."

The two other girls nodded, each picking up boxes as they headed into the hallway.

Meredith nudged Evanna with her hip,"Have you talked to Damon since he killed Jeremy - or tried to kill Jeremy?"

Evanna shook her head,"No Mere, I haven't and I won't, and I don't want to talk about Damon or anything else that's vampire related, okay?"

Elena and Meredith agreed with that as Elena proposed,"How about we all go one night - at least one night - without supernatural subjects?"

The doppelganger then paused,"Did I just jinx us?"

Evanna knocked on a wooden door beside them,"Knock on wood. I see your idea and I raise you, paranormal?"

Elena laughed,"Fine. No supernatural _or _paranormal subjects."

"Just regular teenage girl stuff." Meredith stated, re-arranging her grip on the box.

Evanna looked down at the box full of prizes in her grip,"How does Caroline do all of this?"

"She's not human?" Elena offered.

"Of course."

* * *

Two hours into the carnival, Evanna ran up to Elena, skidding to a stop beside her,"The ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls and Team Jacob T's."

"Okay, I can grab some from the science club. Also we lost a speaker in the karaoke booth."

"Hey, all good Elena, take a beat, look around. This is a huge success. We did good."

"You mean we can do more than just wreak vampire havoc?"

"Go figure."

Chuckling, Elena spotted someone from the carnival team.

She walked up to him,"Hey, Carter, right? You're with the carnival."

"That'll be me."

"Okay, great." Elena smiled, just as Evanna slipped in beside her.

Carter's eyes landed on her, and she smiled politely.

"Wow, what do you need, beautiful?"

Evanna raised an eyebrow,"_Seriously?_"

Elena elbowed her, and Evanna plastered on a sweet smile.

"What do you know about karaoke speakers?"

"Why don't you show me the problem?"

"Yeah _Evanna_, show him the problem." Elena smirked, nudging her cousin in the side again.

"Okay, come on."

As she and Carter walked away, Evanna turned back and rolled her eyes at Elena. This happened more often than she liked. Elena smiled as a reply and headed off in the direction of the science lab.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Evanna, who was dutifully helping Carter, Damon stood over in the corner, alternating his attention between Tyler, who was arm-wrestling, and the brunette witch.

Stefan planted himself beside his brother,"You're lurking."

Damon didn't take his eyes off Evanna; who was now being ruthlessly flirted with,"I'm observing."

"More like obsessing."

Damon rolled his eyes and looked back at the group of guys in time to see Tyler win,"He's strong."

"He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course he's strong."

Mason arrived on the scene then, and Damon narrowed his eyes,"Enter the uncle."

"I bet I could beat you." Mason grinned at his nephew who grinned back,"Don't fool yourself."

Stefan and Damon watched Mason beat Tyler effortlessly and Stefan finally caught on to what Damon had been insinuating,"Okay, that's ridiculous."

Tyler chuckled, raising his hands like a good loser,"Okay, he's the champ, who wants to go next?"

Damon smirked,"Stefan wants to go!"

Stefan glared at his brother before turning back and nodding slightly,"Yeah, sure, I'll...give it a shot."

Things were working out for Damon now; Stefan could embarrass himself while also realizing that Damon was right _and _Evanna's attention was on the match and not that guy.

"Get him, Steff!" Damon cheered, clearly displaying how funny he thought it was.

"My brother thinks I can beat you." Stefan told Mason as he got into position.

Mason cocked his head,"Your brother's wrong."

After a slight, unseen struggle, Mason beat Stefan.

Stefan shook his hand and returned to Damon, who frowned,"You put no effort in at all."

"Actually, I did."

Damon looked back at Mason, watching beat some kid, before grabbing his brother's arm,"Come with me."

* * *

Over with Carter and Evanna, she was watching the brothers with her eyes narrowed.

"Everything okay?"

Evanna turned back to Carter,"Uh, yeah."

"Do you know those two?" He asked, nodding in the direction of the Lockwoods.

"The older guy when I was young and the loser is one of my childhood friends. Interesting match."

Carter chuckled,"I saw that. I think we're all done here -"

Evanna's eyes floated back to where Damon and Stefan had gone,"Awesome. Thank you. Elena would've had a freak attack if something went wrong."

"She's very tense."

"It's her first time organizing something like this. Our friend Caroline usually does, but she's in the hospital. Car crash."

"Oh, I hope she's okay."

"No, she is. She's just not allowed leave until tomorrow. I'm actually kinda surprised she hasn't called to check up on this."

"Is it a good surprise or a bad one?"

"I'll let you know."

* * *

A girl from Evanna's Biology class asked her for help, and she agreed, telling Carter she'd see him around.

Carter replied that he was looking forward to it and went off to repair something else. In the same hallway that Damon and Stefan were theorizing in.

Damon spotted him and tilted his head.

Stefan frowned instantly,"What are you up to?"

"Since this is reality and there's no such thing as werewolves or combat turtles -"

"I said ninja turtles, actually."

Damon waved him off and headed towards Carter,"Hey, you!"

"I have a name."

Damon gripped his shoulders,"Yeah, I don't care."

Damon concentrated and began compelling Carter,"I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood."

"Damon, don't do this."

"It's just an experiment. Get him mad, don't back down no matter what he does, okay?"

"I won't back down." Carter replied monotonously.

"Hm, I know you won't."

Carter walked away and Stefan folded his arms, looking at Damon in disappointment,"You do realize someone is going to get hurt, right?"

"No, someone is going to get mad, as in rage."

"What's that going to accomplish?"

"That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight. Let's see who intervenes; maybe it's the ambiguous, supernatural mystery uncle."

"And you picked Carter because...? You didn't like how he was making googly eyes at Evanna?"

"Don't you have to make bambi an orphan?"

* * *

Evanna was enjoying the normal conversation flowing between her and two of her school friends when Damon arrived.

"Evanna."

Her mood soured,"What do you want, Damon?"

"I know I'm the last person you want to see right now but I need you to come with me."

"Whatever it is, I'm not interested."

Damon nodded,"Yeah, I need you come with me right _now_, Evanna."

She looked up at him up tell him off, realized how serious he was and sighed,"Fine."

* * *

After Damon filled them in about his meeting with 'the new' Caroline, Evanna began to massage her temples.

She, Stefan and Elena were using an empty classroom to talk, as that's where Damon had led her.

"How did this happen?" Stefan asked his brother.

"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her and A plus B equals... V."

"But why?" Elena questioned desperately.

"Because Katherine is a manipulative, nasty, little slut."

"And she said 'game on'? What does that even mean?"

Stefan wondered aloud, drumming his fingers off the window sill.

"It means she's playing dirty, she wants us to know." Damon shrugged, half-sitting half-leaning against the teacher's desk.

"But why Caroline?"

"I don't know, Elena."

"Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she doesn't even know what's happening to her." Stefan shook his head sadly.

Pursing his lips, Damon disagreed,"Oh, I think she does. All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minute she was in transition."

Stefan stood up,"We have to find her."

"Yep," Damon agreed,"And kill her."

Evanna turned back to the group, her voice steady,"You are _not _going to kill Caroline."

"She knows who we are. She's officially a liability, and we've got to get rid of her."

"I don't care if she knows." Evanna stated as Stefan focused his steely gaze on his brother,"Absolutely not, Damon."

"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys, come on, we all know how this story's gonna end, just flip to the last chapter and..."

"It's not an option." Evanna stubbornly shook her head again.

"No? Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Wait, wasn't there a school event the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where history repeats herself. You know I'm right." Damon called as Stefan stopped in front of him.

"We're not gonna kill her."

Evanna watched Elena and Stefan walk out, turning back to Damon.

She glared at him for a second before moving to walk out.

Damon spoke to her as she passed by him, but she ignored him.

"It's the only way."

* * *

The trio split up.

Stefan and Elena were hesitant to let Evanna go alone, but she reminded them that she _was _a witch.

If she ran into Caroline, she could handle it without hurting her best friend.

Luckily the three of them reached Caroline, only to realize Damon had found her too.

Stefan pulled Caroline away from Damon as Evanna sent him flying backwards.

He didn't fall, but he did stumble and drop the stake he had in his grip.

Damon groaned,"Seriously?"

Caroline looked at Elena and began panicking,"Get away from me! You killed me!"

"No, no, no, no Caroline! That wasn't me. You know that! That was Katherine."

"No! Then why did she look like you?! And why, why did she do this to me?"

Evanna kept her hand around Caroline as she looked back at Stefan,"Stefan, we've got to get her inside."

"It's okay Caroline, come with me." Stefan reassured softly, as he and Elena led the blonde inside to get cleaned up.

"She'll die, it's only a matter of time." Damon pointed out.

Stefan turned back around,"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight."

"Oh, yeah, it is."

It happened fast, but Evanna's reflexes allowed her to wedge herself between Caroline and Damon.

Damon froze, stopping his movements immediately.

Caroline was still whimpering behind Evanna as the shorter girl stared into Damon's eyes,"Drop it, Damon."

Damon hesitated for a moment, but when Evanna's eyes moved to the stake, he dropped his arm.

He pointed at her, tapping her nose,"Whatever happens, it's on you."

Evanna turned back and squeezed Caroline's hand,"Get her inside."

She turned back to Damon as Stefan and Elena hurried Caroline inside.

Evanna approached the truck and looked over the edge. Her hand came up to her mouth,"Oh, God."

"Caroline got to your boyfriend. Think she should stay alive now?"

Evanna laughed humorlessly then, making Damon frown,"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I'm just trying to figure out if it was something that went wrong in the womb."

Damon sighed,"You're not still angry at me for the Jeremy thing, are you?"

"What do you think? You tried to kill him, and you _just _tried to kill Caroline. You haven't given her the chance to learn to adjust. After everything you've done to her, you at least owe her one shot. What do we do about Carter?"

"I'll handle it. You should go."

Evanna almost felt guilty, but she was done giving him breaks. He had to take responsibility for his actions, and lack of sleep was making her moody. She nodded and went inside, leaving him contemplating his actions.

* * *

Evanna found Elena standing outside the bathroom, guarding it as Stefan cleaned Caroline up inside.

"How's she doing?"

"She vamped out, but Stefan managed to calm her down. She's confused."

Evanna squeezed Elena's forearm sympathetically, earning a smile.

The bathroom door opened, and a nervous looking blonde appeared.

Evanna smiled softly at Caroline,"Hey..."

"Hi."

"Come here." Elena said, opening her arms for a hug, pulling Evanna with her.

Caroline hesitated,"What if I hurt you?"

Evanna shook her head, wrapping an arm around the girl.

"You won't. We trust you."

* * *

Damon stared at his glass of bourbon, pursing his lips in thought.

With a growl, he threw the glass into the open fire, watching as the flames sparked higher when the alcohol made contact with them.

With a scowl on his face, he didn't even bother turning around,"What the hell are you doing here?"

"You don't lock your front door." Jeremy noted, stepping further into the living room.

"Yeah, I should get on that." Damon quipped sarcastically,"God forbid somebody breaks into a _vampire's_ house."

Damon picked up the full bottle of bourbon, unscrewing the cap and raising it to his lips.

"No I wouldn't..." Jeremy advised,"I laced it with vervain."

Damon held the bottle out at an arm's length, before tossing that into the fire too,"Why would you do that?"

He finally turned around and saw the stake in Jeremy's hands.

"So I could stake you… with this." Jeremy tossed it to the floor, and rolled to a stop by Damon's leg.

He picked it up, inspecting it,"You came here to kill me?"

"It's only fair, you killed me first."

"What made you wisen up?"

"My father was willing to fight vampires, my uncle hates them. They knew exactly what they stood for and I figured maybe I should too. I mean, stand for something, but killing you, what's that gonna do?"

"Look, I don't do the big brother thing very well. Sorry, I don't have any milk and cookies to offer you."

"Dick." Jeremy scoffed, and turned to leave.

"Wait. My father hated vampires too."

Jeremy paused,"He did?"

Damon nodded,"For the same reasons your dad did. Only it was 1864, people knew how to whittle." A hint of a smirk appeared on Damon's face and he tossed Jeremy the stake,"Did you do this?"

"Yeah I tried; it's a lot harder than it looks."

"Jer, I'm sorry I snapped your neck. I shouldn't have done it."

"Damon Salvatore is apologizing?" Jeremy put a hand to his chest,"Am I being punked?"

Damon scowled at him again, rolling his eyes,"Now you sound like your cousin."

Jeremy laughed, moving to leave.

"You know, she'll come around. Evanna's incapable of holding a grudge."


	3. Chapter 3

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Firstly, studying sucks and I have the attention span of ... someone with a very short attention span, and secondly, hi! **

**This is probably the only chapter I will get up today, but my last exam (English) is tomorrow, and then - freedom!**

**They give you points for just speaking English, right? *grimaces***

**Okay, enough of my rambling. Onwards my dear friends!**

* * *

The rest of the week flew by.

Stefan was training Caroline while everyone else tried to return to their semi-normal abnormal lives; which meant studying for that history test.

It was that Saturday that found the two Gilbert girls and the brothers waiting for Alaric at the boarding house.

Evanna sat on the arm rest of the couch, arms folded and one knee bent while Elena and Stefan sat on the couch together. Damon was stood in front of the fireplace.

He opened the door for Alaric,"Thanks for comin', Rick. Something to drink? Coffee? Bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?"

"Elena mentioned you needed my help."

"Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family." Stefan explained.

"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?"

"Well, _you_ wouldn't. But your dead not dead vampire wife might..." Damon shrugged.

"Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together." Evanna elaborated further, in a much nicer way.

"You said that she had spent years researching this town." Remembered Stefan, and Alaric nodded that he was right.

"Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklore and legends but at the time I thought much of which was fiction."

Damon snorted,"Like that amazing vampire story?"

Elena sat forward, nursing a cup of coffee in her hands,"Aside from vampires, what else?"

"The Lycanthrope."

Evanna narrowed her eyes; she'd heard that somewhere in her grimoire,"Wait, werewolves?"

Damon raised his eyebrows,"No way, impossible, way too Lon Chaney."

Stefan glanced sideways at him,"Is it?"

"I've been on this planet almost one hundred and seventy-two years, never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?"

Alaric rolled his eyes and turned back to his three students,"What made you suspect the Lockwoods?"

"Vervain didn't affect Mayor Lockwood on Founder's Day but the device did. It affected Tyler too; it's why he crashed." Evanna recalled to him.

Stefan took over next,"And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the carnival workers."

Elena bit her lip,"We were hoping that Isobel's research could shed some light on things."

"Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean her office is still there, she's technically still missing."

Damon blew out an unneeded breath,"So can we get access to it? Rick, we need to know what we are dealing with. If this wolf men thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. It means Mason Lockwood is a real life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney junior which means Beliza Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed."

* * *

Evanna tossed her grimoire into the open bag on her bed, completely missing it as she rooted through her wardrobe for her cardigan.

She was the one going to Duke with Alaric and Damon, as Stefan had to stay behind to help Caroline, and the subject of Isobel was still a sore one for Elena.

She drew the short straw.

Elena shared an amused look with Stefan, and put the large, leather-bound book in herself,"Nice shot, Ava."

"I should go pro." Evanna slipped the cardigan on, running a brush through her curls.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Stefan asked, leaning forward on the window seat.

"What, spend the entire day with Damon? Yeah, it'll be a _blast_..." Evanna said sarcastically.

"You know what? Maybe we should wait a couple days, huh?" Elena suggested,"Wait until Caroline is less of a danger and then at least Stefan could go with you."

"Nah, I'm a big girl, Lena. I can suck it up. We gotta get answers, and while I'm there, I'm thinking I'll do a little research on doppelgangers."

Elena smiled,"I owe you big time."

"Buy me cookies and we're even."

Elena laughed,"Deal."

"Evanna!" They heard Jenna call,"Did you get lost up there?"

* * *

Downstairs, Jenna laughed, turning back to Alaric.

"So, Duke, huh?"

Alaric nodded,"Yeah, I figured it was time to take care of my wife's things you know. Look Jenna, I know things between you and I have been a little start and stop and I'm sorry for that but maybe once I can…"

"Uh…no, don't do that. Not the half maybe apology hope for the future thing. Do what you need to do okay?"

Damon reached in through the open window of Alaric's car and honked the horn just as Evanna, Stefan and Elena came down the stairs.

"Jen, I'll be back late. Don't wait up."

Jenna nodded, said her goodbyes and retreated further into the house.

"Sorry you can't come too." Damon called to Stefan and Elena.

Evanna opened the back door and put her bag on the ground, turning back around as her cousin talked to her.

"Call us if you need anything." Elena told her.

Stefan set a hand on Elena's back,"We're a phone call away."

"Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert." Damon smirked,"I'll take _very _good care of Evanna."

Evanna glared at him before turning back.

"I'll call."

* * *

Evanna spent the entire ride texting; Meredith, Matt, Caroline, Noel, Raina ... pretty much everyone.

Damon looked back at her through the mirror, reaching behind himself to squeeze her knee,"How're you doing back there?"

Evanna tore her eyes away from her phone, glared at him, and returned to texting.

"You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly."

"I don't think she's pretending. You did kill her cousin." Alaric reminded him.

"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement: he came back to life."

"Yeah, thanks to a ring you didn't know he was wearing." Evanna concluded, rolling her eyes.

"Why are you so sure I didn't know?"

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"Evanna, I saw the ring! It's a big tacky thing, it's hard to miss..."

* * *

Evanna ignored Damon the rest of the day, and instead surveyed the Duke campus.

College girls smiled and batted their eyelashes at Damon as they passed, but college boys checked her out too.

She couldn't help but smirk when she noticed Damon glaring at them, only to wipe it off and remind herself that she was angry at him.

"Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore."

Alaric knocked on the open door that had Isobel's name printed on the glass, and smiled politely at the girl who stood inside,"Excuse me, hi. I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier."

"Yes, of course. I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant comparative folklore."

Vanessa's gaze fell on the other two and Alaric hurried to explain,"These are my friends; Evanna Gilbert and Damon Salvatore."

"Nice to meet you. Let me just grab Isobel's keys."

"I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."

"Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there. Isobel was one of my first professors. I'm a grad

student, she was brilliant and one of the reasons I went into folklore. Uh, I have to ask, has there been any news?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

Vanessa nodded, defeated and then brightened up,"It's this way."

* * *

Vanessa led them into an office which looked like a mini library.

Evanna's eyes scanned the entire room as Vanessa smiled,"I'll grab the light, feel free to look around. It's fascinating isn't it?"

Evanna gravitated towards a shelf, plucking a picture down from the top.

In it, Alaric and Isobel were beaming on their wedding day.

Damon, on the other side of the room, furrowed his eyebrows,"Where'd she go?"

Evanna frowned, putting the picture back and turning around in time to see Vanessa come back in, a crossbow trained on her.

Damon used his vampire speed to block Evanna from the arrow, effectively getting shot himself.

He was taller than Evanna, so the arrow wedged in his ribcage rather than his chest.

Alaric grabbed Vanessa as Damon fell to the ground.

* * *

"Pull it out. I can't reach it, Evanna. Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts."

Evanna faltered, her hands hovering over the arrow.

"Okay, on the count of three; one," She began, and then pulled the arrow out with one swift yank.

She set it down beside Damon as he stretched up, shaking himself out.

He paused for a second before turning around,"That bitch is dead."

Evanna put a hand on his chest to stop him from walking,"You're not gonna kill her."

Damon stopped and then grinned down at her,"Watch me..."

Evanna turned around to watch him walk by her,"Damon, I swear, if you hurt her I will never speak to you again."

Damon rounded back,"What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for you? You're severely overestimating yourself."

Evanna pushed the arm that he tried to sling over her shoulder away,"Right, I forgot I was talking to a psychotic mind who snaps and kills people impulsively. Fine, go ahead, do whatever you want."

Damon smirked,"You're trying to manipulate me."

"If by 'manipulate' you mean 'tell the truth' okay, guilty." It was silent for a few seconds before Evanna headed out into the main office.

"Okay..."

* * *

Vanessa pushed her hair out of her face,"I freaked, okay?! Damon Salvatore died in 1864 and Isobel said the Electi didn't exist. I recognized Evanna's name from Isobel's research."

Evanna braced herself against the back of a chair,"The Electi? What's that?"

Vanessa stared at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world,"You."

"Me?"

"Yeah. I don't know much about it; neither did Isobel. Her notebook is here somewhere."

Alaric let her move, and they watched her root around Isobel's drawer before pulling out a book. She handed it to Alaric and he read through it.

"The Electi, which translates from Latin to 'elected', is the 1000th witch of the Bennett line, stemming from Edward Branson-Bennett, the strongest Bennett witch in history. Edward was born in 993 - a thousand years before the Electi was born."

Damon nodded,"You _were _born in 1993."

Alaric flipped the page over,"Isobel knew that. Listen: 'My biological daughter Elena has a cousin who is Eliza Keaton's daughter, and Sheila Bennett's granddaughter. Evanna Gilbert was born August 16th, in 1993, fourteen days after my own daughter; she is the Electi."

Vanessa shrugged,"The Electi has been prophesied for centuries. Isobel couldn't find much else than that, only that the Electi attracts supernatural entities. They know who you are just by seeing you."

* * *

Dumbstruck by this new twist, Evanna switched between searching for werewolves, Katherine, doppelgangers and ... herself.

They'd been there for three hours without finding anything on either subject.

Vanessa dropped a box onto the desk beside Evanna,"This box checks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in December of 1863."

"Is that all there is?"

"All that I'm aware of."

Evanna spotted something in the corner of the box and took the plant out. Vervain. She looked at Damon who was in the other room, and handed it to Vanessa, whispering,"Here, take this."

"Does vervain really work?" Vanessa whispered back.

Evanna nodded, and that's when Damon spoke up,"Nope, not at all."

Vanessa's eyes widened,"Can he hear us?"

"No, that would be creepy." Damon mused.

Evanna rolled her eyes while Vanessa asked,"Can he read minds too?"

Damon turned around to them,"If you wanna see me naked, all you have to do is ask."

"No!" Evanna cut in,"That, he can't do. He _is _very capable of being a first rate jackass."

* * *

Later on, Evanna blew out a breath, putting books back into another box.

Damon slipped into the space behind her, not that there was much of it,"Any luck?"

"There's nothing in here about Katherine that we don't already know."

"Ah, you know, it's a bummer we're not friends anymore because I could tell you what I know."

Evanna looked behind herself,"Now who's manipulating who?"

"Hey guys, check this out." Alaric beckoned them from the other room.

Evanna slinked passed Damon and they joined up in Isobel's office.

"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls but here are some records of some of the lesser known legends. Everything from Scandinavian skin walkers to Aztecs legends."

Vanessa said, handing Evanna a book.

Damon looked over her shoulder at it as Vanessa explained,"It's translate into the 'curse of the sun and the moon'."

"It's Native American." Alaric pointed out, seeing Vanessa nod in agreement,"Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story: 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plauged by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."

Evanna handed the book back to her as Damon ventured,"Can they control the transformation?"

"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse. Werewolves will attack humans, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice: vampires."

"Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it."

Vanessa clearly disagreed,"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago vampires hunted them almost to extinction."

"Why would they do that?" Asked Evanna, making Vanessa look at her again.

"To protect themselves. A werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire."

* * *

Evanna went outside to call Elena.

"Hey, you okay?"

Evanna sighed, leaning against the wall,"Yeah. Is Stefan with you?"

"Yeah, he can hear you."

"Good. We found some stuff." Evanna began filling them in on everything,"So, be careful. Make sure Stefan's not kibble."

Elena laughed,"He heard that."

Evanna grinned,"Good. There's ... something else. Isobel was conducting research into a prophecy of the 'Electi'."

"What's that?"

"Apparently... me. Isobel didn't find much, only that _I _was this thing. We're bringing her notebook home so, you guys can read it then."

"Alright, be safe."

"You too. Tell Caroline I said hey."

"Will do. Bye, Ava."

"See you."

* * *

When Evanna came back in, she asked Vanessa about Elena,"Hey, did Isobel have anything on doppelgangers?"

"Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures, but typically a doppelganger is a living, breathing double of oneself."

"Did Isobel find anything that linked Katherine and doppelgangers?"

"That's all she had on Katherine, unfortunately, but I can tell you that doppelgangers usually torment the people they look like, trying to undue their lives. It's not exactly uplifting."

Evanna grimaced,"Yeah, sadly we already knew that. I just wish we knew why she and my cousin look alike."

"Headscratcher, isn't it?"

Evanna took a deep breath, a hand on her hip as she looked at Damon,"Do you know something, or are you just being yourself?"

"Well, if I _do _know something, I'm not going to tell you with that attitude."

"That's great, Damon, and this is coming from someone who wants to be my friend, but you know what? Friends don't manipulate friends, they help each other."

* * *

At half-nine that night, Evanna tugged on the car door handle, hoping that persistent force would change the mechanics.

Yes, she knew it was futile.

"I got it." Damon said from behind her, pressing the button that unlocked it.

He opened the door for her, but when she tried to get in, he moved in the way making her bump off him.

"You're not going to be able to hate me forever."

Evanna sighed,"Can we just go?"

Damon handed her a chunky book,"You missed something."

"Petrova?" Evanna questioned, reading the spine,"I saw it on a shelf..."

"Katherine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name. _Katerina_ Petrova, to be exact."

"How did you know that?"

"Back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Men snoop too, you know. Let me know what you find, I'm very curious myself."

Evanna nodded and tried to get into the car again, only to be stopped,"You have every right to hate me, I understand - but, you hated me before and we became friends. It would suck if that was gone forever. So, is it? Have I lost you forever?"

Evanna took a deep, tired breath,"Thank you for the book, Damon."

He nodded understandingly, finally allowing her into the car.

* * *

At eleven, Evanna stepped onto her porch, ready to read some of the book and then sleep.

"Road trips work well for us." Damon reminded her, and she shook her head,"This doesn't mean that things are back to the way they used to be, Damon."

"Oh, come on, you know I chipped a little bit off of your wall of hatred."

Evanna stopped walking and turned around to him,"Damon... there is no wall of hatred. How many times do I have to tell you that I've never hated you? I just... I need time. Seeing Jeremy laying there all broken, knowing you had caused it... it ... it hurt."

"I'm sorry." Damon said quietly.

Evanna gave him a soft smile,"I know, but there's a lot of stuff I've gotta work through until we're okay again."

"So... I haven't lost you forever?"

"No." She shook her head,"Not forever. Just, for the time being."

Damon nodded,"Goodnight, Evanna."

Evanna watched him leave, and sighed sadly, turning around and opening the front door.

When she walked inside, she noticed Elena was up, watching television in the living room.

Setting down her bag, she flopped onto the couch beside the older girl and looked at her tiredly.

"So, what'd I miss?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Sorry for the late update! I have been running and racing all day and have only recently gotten to sit down and type. I'm exhausted, so I apologize for any typos or any other mistakes.  
**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review! :)**

* * *

Stefan stirred in his bed, his eyes snapping open.

He blinked against the onslaught of sunlight that attacked his sensitive eyes. He rubbed them, his hand coming up to stroke Elena's head that lay on his chest.

She looked up, her innocent brown eyes blinking sleepily,"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yes, bad dream." Stefan frowned,"Get back to sleep."

He shot up suddenly, and sped away from the bed. The girl sat up, her uncharacteristic smirk giving her away.

"Katherine."

"You have to admit I am getting better at this."

Katherine slid off the bed, folding her arms,"It was easy to get inside of your head. Have you completely forsaken your nature?"

Stefan rushed over her to her, and attempted to knock her back, only to stagger back himself. She rolled her eyes.

"Are we really gonna do this again? You both know I could rip you to shreds and do my nails at the same time."

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to see you." Katherine smiled,"I missed you, Stefan. Indulge me for a little while, please?"

"Why are you back in town?"

"Three reasons." Katherine counted them off on her fingers,"You, you and you."

"You see, I can't quite get that down. Just kind of… gets stuck in my throat."

"Well, you know, it's the truth. Deep down inside that gorgeous body of yours there's the Stefan that fell in love with me too."

* * *

Evanna waited patiently for her grandmother to open the door.

It had been two days since they went to Duke, and Evanna was in need of some quality time with Sheila.

"Hi, honey. Come on in. Do you need something?"

"Jenna's having a barbeque today. She wanted to know if you would like to join us?"

"I have nothing planned. Where've you been these past two weeks?

"A lot has gone on. I know you said I could talk to you but I haven't had the time."

"Well we have time now. Sit, talk."

"Where do I start? You know Katherine's back... she turned Caroline into a vampire."

"What?"

"Yeah. Caroline freaked but Stefan's helping her. I gave her one of those rings so she can walk in the sunlight."

"You can do that already?"

"Apparently. Mystic Falls might have werewolves; actually, there's a pretty good chance of that. Mason Lockwood is our number one suspect. Damon, Alaric and I spent all day Saturday at Duke University researching."

"What did you find?"

* * *

Evanna gave Sheila the short version of everything, including the whole _electi _thing. Actually, there was no long version of that.

"So, we have _that _to look into too."

"And how's school going?"

"Oddly enough, fine. I barely manage to squeeze in enough time for homework and stuff but ... we all manage at least. Alaric helps with the whole history class thing." Evanna checked the time,"We should probably head back to the house."

"After you."

"Oh, can we stop at the Grill first? Caroline accidentally attacked Matt and I wanted to check up on him."

"Of course we can. You drive or I?"

"Dibs!"

* * *

Evanna and Sheila sat at a table.

They had spoken to Matt, and now just sat talking once again. Sheila had run into an old friend, and right after the woman left, Damon slid into the seat beside Evanna.

Evanna jumped and then frowned,"What do you want?"

"Good morning to you, too, Baby Witch." Damon nodded at Sheila,"Grandma Witch."

Evanna rolled her eyes,"No but, like, seriously, why are you here?"

"I'm collecting an order, thought I'd say hi before the big barbecue."

"How do you know about that?"

"Rick invited me." Damon answered, taking a white box from a waitress with a thank you and a dazzling smile.

"Does Jenna know?" Evanna frowned,"She's not exactly your biggest fan."

"I'm hoping this peach cobbler will pave the way."

Evanna narrowed her eyes, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair,"What are you up to?"

"Nothing."

Evanna gave him a pointed look and he sighed,"Mason Lockwood is gonna be there; he and Jenna went to high school together. I figured a social gathering would be a good way to get to know the guy."

"And...?"

"That's it."

"_Seriously_?"

"Fine!" He huffed,"I didn't want to tell you 'cause you'd be all like 'ooh, that's not socially acceptable' but, I'm gonna put silver into Mason Lockwood and prove he's a werewolf. See you at the barbecue."

* * *

Stefan entered the living room and immediately spotted Katherine seated by the fire, flipping through one of his journals.

"You shouldn't read someone's journal."

"I know. I'm sorry. It was just too tempting, all of your inner thoughts and feelings, laying there on your desk for me to read."

Stefan plucked it from her hands and replaced it with a glass of blood,"Damon's private stock." He informed.

"That's right! You don't do human, I read that. I also read about your recent werewolf siting... That must have come as a surprise."

"What do you know about werewolves?"

"I know not to pet one." Katherine remarked,"Their bite kills, Stefan. It's best to stay clear of them during a full moon."

"And… how do you know this?"

Katherine stood up,"Who do you think was responsible for ridding this town of vampires in 1864?"

"Founding families." Stefan answered matter-of-factly.

She raised an eyebrow,"Spearheaded by?"

He nodded,"The Lockwoods."

"You remember the Founder's Ball, don't you? The one that you were dreaming about?"

"I was your escort."

She smiled coyly.

"That was before you and Damon knew about my little secret."

* * *

Evanna, Elena, Jenna and Sheila were in the kitchen just before the barbecue began.

"Thanks for letting us invite Caroline." Elena said to Jenna,"She could use a day of distraction."

Jenna cocked her head,"She's not the plus one I'm worried about. Why is Damon coming?"

"Because Alaric is weak." Evanna teased as Elena laughed softly,"We might as well be nice, you guys."

Jenna shrugged,"I'll be nice to Damon when he learns how to keep his paws off Evanna. Seriously, he is a no-go, you hear me?"

Evanna snorted and nodded, saluting her.

Mason walked into the kitchen then, grinning widely.

Evanna couldn't help but notice his sharp teeth.

"Good news! I found the shot glasses!"

"You're here for 10 minutes and I'm already back under the bleachers at the pep rally." Jenna mused.

Evanna and Elena both scrunched up their faces, turning to each other and speaking simultaneously,"Ew..."

Mason chuckled,"Just like old times, huh, Jen? Only this time I didn't steal the bottle from my old man."

Alaric arrived and picked up the bottle,"Oh, expensive stuff. I like you already."

"Look at you," Evanna cooed, reaching up to ruffle Alaric's short hair,"So easily pleased. Like a little, alcoholic puppy."

Mason shrugged,"Just happy to be invited."

"Thank Rick, it was his idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you know, I thought it would be nice to meet some of Jenna's high school friends. Dig up a little dirt."

Mason smirked,"I've got dirt."

Sheila laughed at Jenna's horrified look,"I have no secrets. Only dirty shame."

Evanna closed the cabinet door behind herself, handing Elena the glass she'd silently asked for,"I'm torn between wanting to hear these stories and not wanting to be scarred for life."

"Hey." A voice greeted and Evanna automatically rolled her eyes.

She leaned her head against the cabinet, catching the amused looks sent her way.

"Damon..." Jenna greeted.

"We were just doing shots." Alaric told him,"I'll get you a glass."

"Use mine." Jenna said, walking out of the room.

Damon turned to the others,"She really doesn't like me."

"We haven't met." Mason said, sticking out his hand,"Mason Lockwood."

"Oh, hey, sure. Damon Salvatore."

"I know." Mason nodded,"I've heard great things about you."

"About _him_?" Evanna asked, pointing at Damon.

Damon shrugged,"She's just surprised 'cause she thinks I'm a dick."

"I deny nothing in that sentence."

* * *

"From the moment I met George, I knew he'd be a problem."

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed,"So you're saying that all the Lockwoods are werewolves?"

"The werewolf gene runs in the Lockwood family." Katherine corrected,"Not that they're all wolves."

"How many werewolves are out there? I mean… is it just limited to the Lockwoods?"

"No, there are others." Katherine then waved the matter off,"Not many. They're practically extinct. They mainly exist now in books and really bad movies." She took a drink and set the glass down,"My turn to ask a question."

Katherine produced the picture of herself from in between the pages of Stefan's journal,"Why did you keep this picture? Why not burn it? Tear it up? You want to know why I came back. Well I have a better question: Why did you? For Elena? No. You came back here to fall in love with me all over again, didn't you?"

Stefan moved towards her, carressing her face and leaning in closely, their lips just touching.

When Katherine's guard was down, Stefan stabbed a vervain dart through her back, injecting the poison into her.

"What is it about you that makes me still care?"

* * *

By the time she woke up, Stefan was done shackling her to the chair in the basement.

"Now, where were we? That's right; you were going to tell me why you came back to Mystic Falls, weren't you?"

"You don't have to do this." She said groggily.

"Answer the question."

"I came back for you."

"We're gonna play by my rules now." Stefan put on his gloves, and took a strip of vervain from a bowl.

He ran it across her cheek, watching the flawless skin burn and blister. Katherine screamed.

"Answer the question."

Katherine gritted her teeth,"You're going to torture me now?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to get you to tell me the truth."

"Later that night at the Founder's Ball…"

"I don't want to hear any more stories about the past."

"Yes, you do, Stefan. That's exactly what you want to hear."

* * *

In the next two hours, Evanna caught up on what she'd missed in Caroline's life.

She'd broken up with Matt because of her craving and had a new found respect for food and how it curved the aforementioned cravings.

They were currently in the living room after dinner playing pictionary. Drinks had been flying and someone had let Damon have a marker.

"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna called out excitedly.

Damon shook his head as Caroline took a guess,"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!"

"No, and no."

"A dog? A hound-dog?" Jenna guessed again.

Mason chuckled,"_Dances with the wolves_'."

Damon snapped his fingers,"Mason wins... again."

"Question!" Evanna exclaimed, raising her hand,"How on Earth is _that _a wolf?"

* * *

As Mason stepped up to the easel, Evanna slipped into the kitchen to get desert ready. Sheila came in to help her and apparently, so did Damon.

"Aunt Jenna's getting tipsy." Damon sang.

"You keep plying her with alcohol. Did you expect anything else?"

"I want her to like me."

Sheila set her wine glass down as Evanna cut into the desert Damon had brought,"How's operation Lockwood going?"

Damon shrugged, walking behind Evanna.

He leaned in closely to her ear and answered Sheila,"He's my new BFF."

Evanna jumped and had enough time to give him a smack on the bicep before Jenna walked in.

"Isn't this fun?" The strawberry blonde asked.

"Yes." Damon answered,"Thank you _so _much for inviting me."

"Did I have a choice?"

"I know what you must think about me."

"No, you don't. You've never dated you; I have dated many you's."

"I'm a work in progress."

Evanna raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to comment as she handed a knife from a set back to Jenna.

Damon noticed them and walked over to the open set,"These are fancy."

"Thanks. My mother's silver set."

Both Sheila and Evanna looked at Damon then, realizing the meaning that Jenna's words had to him. Damon wriggled his eyebrows and slipped a knife into his pocket, using his shirt to cover it up. Evanna smiled at Jenna, hoping Damon didn't cause a scene.

* * *

"You know, we can sit here as long as you want." Stefan shrugged, taking a seat,"And when you start to desiccate, there's a tomb with your name on it."

"I've been doing all the talking, it's your turn. Do you pretend to be human when you're with Elena? Is that the appeal?"

"Actually, I don't pretend to be anything when I'm with her. That's the whole point. I get to just be myself."

"Does she know that you love me?"

Stefan shook his head assuredly,"I don't."

"That's where you're wrong, Stefan. Don't you remember bringing me home that night? Your family had taken me in. Go ahead Stefan. Torture me, keep me captive, drain me of my blood until my body turns to dust. It'll never change the truth. I never compelled your love. It was real and so was mine."

She sighed, adjusting her position,"Hearing the truth after a century and a half of denial must be overwhelming."

"It wasn't real, I remember you compelling me."

"Only after I showed you who I really was. You were so scared of me; I had to take away your fear."

"Well, whatever feelings I had back then, they all turned to hate."

"Love, hate, such a fine line, I can wait. Anyway, George Lockwood was causing all sorts of trouble. He used the vampires to cover up his own tracks. He told the founding families about us. But he was willing to strike a deal."

"What kind of a deal?"

"A deal to rid the town of vampires."

Stefan paused, a deep frown appearing on his face,"You knew that they were gonna burn the vampires in the church?"

She shrugged,"I practically lit the match."

"They were your friends, they were your family and you just sold them out."

"Without blinking."

* * *

Evanna, Elena and Caroline sat on the couch in the living room, flicking through a magazine.

The adults were in the kitchen, with Damon dropping the odd wolf term to spark something in Mason.

"Would I be the worst person in the world if I abandoned you two and headed over to Stefan's?"

"You want to leave?" Caroline pouted.

"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me and I'm starting to get this bad feeling."

"Is that a good idea?" The newborn vampire asked insecurely.

"Evanna and Damon have it covered here."

Caroline nodded,"Okay, I'll drive you."

Evanna stood up with them,"I'll hold down the fort here."

* * *

"What did George get in return?" Was Stefan's next question,"For giving you your freedom?"

"Something he wanted desperately."

"So you sent 26 of your friends to their death, just to fake your own? No, you were running from something. What was it?"

"Everyone has a past, Stefan. Mine needed to stay far far away but thanks to you my plan nearly failed before it even began. Once George told me that the round up was imminent, I made sure I could see you one last time, but your father used your love for me against you, he poisoned your blood. Then Damon being Damon, nearly ruined everything."

"We came for you, we tried to save you."

"I didn't _want_ to be saved."

"So then Damon and I died for nothing! For nothing!"

"No, Stefan, you died for love!"

* * *

"Thanks for this, I appreciate it." Elena smiled, strapping herself into Caroline's car.

"Here we come, to the rescue."

Elena frowned, watching her house disappear as they drew away,"Why are you being so snippy?"

"That's my own drama. I'm sure that you two will beat the odds. Not that there is any study to pull odds from. What is the ratio of success vampire-human coupling? I'm guessing nil."

Elena sank back in her chair, pouting,"Okay Caroline."

The blonde sighed,"Sorry."

Elena shook her head, turning up the radio,"I love this song."

Caroline pushed a button on her steering wheel and spoke clearly,"Whats playing?"

An automatic voice replied,"Playing 'We Radiate' By Goldfrapp."

Caroline grinned,"Ta-da."

The car jolted slightly, a soft bang sounding from the back of the car. Caroline grimaced.

"Oh crap."

Elena frowned,"What?"

"I may have just burst my tire..."

* * *

"Are you sure the tow's coming? We've been waiting forever." Elena grumbled, pacing back and forth.

"I know, it's weird. They said they'd be here by now."

"Yeah. I'm just gonna call Jenna."

"No!" Caroline quickly exclaimed,"Let me try the tow people again. And I'll use my mad girl voice."

"Can't we just walk from here?"

"I can't just leave my car"

"We'll come back for it."

Caroline ran a hand through her hair, frustrated,"Just give me a minute, Elena."

"Caroline, what part of 'I'm worried about Stefan' didn't sink in?"

"What's the rush? Why are you hurrying to get to a relationship that will never work?"

Elena stepped back, offended,"Okay, look. I know that you're upset over Matt but will you stop projecting it onto me and Stefan please?"

"I'm not projecting anything! You're human, he's a vampire. You're gonna be 70 and in diapers and he's still gonna be smoking hot and you will never have his children, Elena! And you are too maternal to not have children!"

"Where is this coming from?"

"I'm just trying to be your friend."

"Okay, well, do me a favor and stop trying."

The tow truck arrived then, pulling up in front of Caroline's car.

"There's the tow, I'm gonna walk."

"No, Elena, don't!" Caroline, forgetting her new strength, grasped Elena's arm with a bruising strength.

Elena winced,"Caroline, you're hurting me."

"Don't leave me alone." The taller girl pleaded, her blue eyes wide with fear.

"What's wrong with you?"

The tow guy; a small man with a flushed face and a receeding hairline approached them,"Hey there, someone called about a flat tire?"

Elena wrenched her arm from Caroline's grip, nodding in her direction as she began to walk away.

"She did."

* * *

"Are you gonna tell me why you came back here or you're just playing another game?"

Katherine rolled her eyes,"Have you not heard a word that I've said? I've answered that question 5 times over now."

Stefan nodded,"Oh good, make it six."

"I want what I want, Stefan and I don't care what I have to do to get it. My list of victims is a long one, and I have no problem adding one more name to that list."

"Come on Katherine. If you wanted Elena dead, you would have done it by now."

"Still can. If I have to, I will snap her neck like a twig and you know it."

Stefan rushed towards her, plunging the stake down only to halt right before it hit her skin,"I guess you don't hate me as much as you thought you did. I don't want you seeing Elena anymore. If you don't remove from your life, I will kill everyone that she loves while she watches and then I will kill her while you watch."

Stefan dropped the stake and began to strangle her.

"Don't you ever think for one moment that I will not kill you."

She rolled her eyes again, kicked him back and released herself from the shackles.

"I have been sipping vervain every single day for the last 145 years. You caught me by surprise once, I wasn't gonna let it happen again. It doesn't hurt me, Stefan."

"What? Why?"

"I told you, I missed you Stefan. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

Katherine paused, hearing someone upstairs. In a flash, she had pinned Stefan down, a stake through his leg, and had disappeared.

"Hello?" He heard Elena call,"Stefan?"

Upstairs, Elena glanced back towards the door,"Stefan?"

Elena turned around and gasped, thinking for a second she was seeing her reflection.

Katherine grinned, tilting her head,"You must be Elena."

"How is this possible? How do we look exactly alike?"

Katherine pursed her lips,"You're asking the wrong questions."

Elena heard thunderous footsteps coming closer and turned away.

"Elena?!"

Stefan arrived, and Elena turned back to look at Katherine. She was gone.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really." Elena admitted, embracing him,"Are you okay?"

"Not really."

* * *

Caroline entered the bathroom of the Grill, and heard the door slam closed behind her.

"Katherine."

Katherine pushed her body off the wall, stopping in front of the scared blonde,"Care to share how you couldn't follow through with one simple task?"

"I tried okay? But I couldn't exactly kidnap my best friend."

"Occupy her. That's all I asked."

"I told her that her relationship was doomed and all that mortality stuff. I think… I really think that I got to her."

"I hope so because let's not forget. I already killed you once; I can easily do it again."

* * *

Evanna plugged her phone into charge beside her bed, and when she straightened up, she noticed Damon was lying across it.

"Mason knows."

"How?"

"He caught onto my wolf innuendos. We've come to an ... agreement."

"Let me guess; you've come to an agreement, but your terms are different to his, which he is unaware of."

"You know me so well. Anyway, I'm heading out. Thought I should let you know."

"Bye."

"By the way, I think Jenna's coming around to me. It's great when the family support us."

Evanna picked up a pillow and threw it towards him. It hit the semi-closed door, and Damon opened it again.

"Sloppy."

"My powers aren't."

"Yeah ... well, bye."


	5. Chapter 5

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Yay! Another chapter! Enjoy and review! :)**

* * *

Elena popped her head around Evanna's bedroom door and smiled at the mass of blankets that covered the small girl.

"Evanna." She called, tip-toeing over to the bed,"Time to wake up."

"Sleep ... good." Evanna groaned, pulling the blanket over her head,"Want ... more ... sleep."

"I'll drag you."

Evanna pulled the covers down,"No you won't. I bite."

Elena laughed,"Fine, I guess I'll wake up Jeremy all by myself then."

"I'm up!"

* * *

"Morning, sunshine." Jenna teased as Evanna walked into the kitchen in her pajamas.

"Uh-uh, no. No sunshine before coffee." Evanna droned, moving passed a chuckling Alaric,"Oh, coffee, I love you."

"She's never been a morning person." Elena told Alaric with a sly grin.

Evanna glared halfheartedly at Elena and Jenna,"You two are; it's disgusting."

Jeremy trudged in to join them then, not saying a word as he headed for the coffee maker.

"Ah, finally someone normal. Question, Jer; mornings suck, yay or nay?"

Jeremy rubbed his eyes and answered her with a groan.

"The light burns my eyes."

* * *

"I'm confused. You and Stefan broke up."

"Yes." Elena replied.

"But you didn't break up?"

"No."

"Help me out here." Evanna cried desperately, combing through her wet hair.

Elena, who was leaning against the doorway smiled at her cousin's frustrated expression.

"We want everyone to believe we've broken up so Katherine does. We're trying to trick her. We think Katherine's doing something to Caroline, so we made sure she was in ear shot when we 'broke up'."

"Ah, very clever. Wait, why am I being told?"

"We both agreed that you'd see right through us. Besides, I can't hide these things from you."

"Your secret's safe with me. I'm going to guess that Stefan was the vampire I sensed this morning."

Elena blushed,"Yeah, he stayed the night."

"Figured as much. Slut."

Elena laughed loudly,"Love you, too."

* * *

Jeremy walked into the bathroom then too, hand over his eyes.

Evanna rolled her eyes,"I'm dressed, Jer."

"I heard the shower. I didn't want to take any chances."

"Yes, because Elena would be standing in the _open _door if I wasn't dressed."

Jeremy shrugged, removing his hand, and leaning against the opposite side of the door frame,"I can't believe Tyler's a werewolf."

Elena began to fix Evanna's hair into a fish-tail braid as she corrected her brother,"We're not sure about that yet. The only thing we know for sure is that Mason Lockwood is."

"It should be enough easy for us to figure it out."

Evanna held up a finger,"Woah! No, there is no _us. _We said that we wouldn't keep things from you anymore. That doesn't mean that we want you involved in it."

"By definition of being in this family, I'm involved."

"This is dangerous, Jeremy. You have to stay out of it, okay?"

Elena told him, squeezing his shoulder.

Jeremy sighed and nodded,"Alright. Just saying."

They watched him go while Elena tied a white elastic at the end of Evanna's braid.

Evanna felt her senses kick up and grinned,"Lena... there's a visitor in your room."

Elena grinned and ran into her bedroom.

Evanna smiled; it was nice seeing people happy. She surveyed her outfit in the mirror. Skinny jeans, white wedge sandals and a white, ruffle-tiered tank top. They'd had a day off from school for the annual event_._

Technically, it was like history class.

* * *

Evanna slipped away from the group, not wanting to listen to Carole Lockwood's recycled speech.

The whole thing was in honor of a new public park in Mystic Falls. Elena was off painting a veranda with Caroline, and it was the perfect weather for a stroll.

"Hey."

Evanna glanced up,"Mere! Why do I feel like it's been so long since I've seen you?"

"It hasn't been _that _long. Elena's been filling me in. I've been with Matt."

"How's he doing?"

"The bite has almost healed up. He's still pretty bummed about the break up, though."

"Caroline is too. I wish we could give him a reason but..."

"Yeah. How're you doing?"

"Okay. You?"

"Can't complain. I've been vampire free for a week, maybe?"

"Congratulations. I haven't been vampire free for a _day_."

"It sucks that you're in the middle of all of it." Meredith said sympathetically, sitting on the bench beside Evanna.

"Oddly enough, I'm glad that I'm in the middle. I deal with things better when I know everything there is to know."

"Just like when you were a kid."

"I wish I _was _a kid."

* * *

They returned to the main center soon in time to see Caroline watch her mother leave.

They fallen into place beside her just as Elena did.

"Everything okay?" Evanna asked, wrapping an arm around Caroline and giving her a squeeze.

"I don't know. Something's up." Caroline turned on her heel and headed into the woods.

The three girls followed after her.

"Woah, where are we going?"

"I need to be able to hear better, Elena."

"Hear what?" Evanna tried to listen out for anything, but couldn't hear much over the birds.

"Something's wrong."

Meredith stepped forward,"Caroline..."

"Sssh!"

* * *

They fell silent until Caroline gasped,"Oh, God."

"What is it, Caroline?" Elena pried.

"Stefan and Damon."

"Are they in trouble?"

"Evanna, activate witch mode. I heard gun shots."

"You want me to track them?"

"I'll track the blood, you track them."

"Deal."

* * *

Caroline bent down to pick up a plant,"There's blood on this. They were here."

"What are you four doing out here?" Mason asked in shock.

The four girls turned as Elena asked,"Have you seen Stefan?"

"Yes, I have. Damon too."

Meredith crossed her arms,"Where are they?"

"You don't need me to tell you that. I'll let your friend here sniff them out." He said, nodding towards Caroline,"Does your mother know what you are? I'd be happy to tell her."

Caroline went to lunge for him, but he grabbed Evanna and held her by the throat,"Don't be stupid! Necks snap easy around here."

"I can take you."

"Wanna bet?"

Mason flew away from Evanna and landed hard against a tree.

Evanna fell into a defensive stance beside Caroline,"I'll take that bet. Even if you were at full strength."

"What are you?"

Caroline rushed behind him and threw him into another tree,"She's not to be messed with."

Evanna looked around, her mind becoming clearer. She knew where they were.

"Guys, come on."

* * *

Meredith, Elena and Evanna snuck into the ruins.

Evanna muttered a sleeping spell that sent one of the deputies to the ground. Too bad she didn't know how to cast it on multiple people.

Elena ran in front of Stefan as Evanna slipped in front of Damon.

Meredith stood in between them, at the back, so they formed a protective triangle.

"What are you girls doing?"

"You can't kill them!" Elena pleaded, just as the door closed by itself.

Caroline was inside somewhere.

A deputy frowned,"What was that?"

Liz turned back to them,"Who else is with you?"

Caroline knocked a deputy out behind Liz, and killed the other,"Hi, mom."

* * *

Elena sat with Stefan as Damon fed off a dead deputy.

"Come on, Stef, you need some deputy blood."

"No."

Caroline shrugged,"If there ever was a time to break your diet -"

"He said no, Caroline." Elena said pointedly.

Caroline backed off.

Damon dropped the deputy and his face returned to normal,"Hm, how unfortunate. Two dead deputies and," he turned to look at Liz,"You. What am I going to do with you?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you? Mom? Mom? Please. Look, I know that we don't get along and that you hate me but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right? Mom, please. He will kill you." Caroline begged her.

Liz looked up, the pain and confusion in her eyes clear,"Then kill me."

"No, mom!"

"I can't take this. Kill me now."

"But you were gonna drag it out so painfully." Damon quoted her, moving towards her.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Caroline cried, clinging to Meredith.

"Damon, stop, don't!" Stefan called out.

Damon ignored him, stopping in front of Liz.

"Damon, give it up. You're not being funny." Evanna rolled her eyes.

Damon turned around,"How come she was the only one to realize I was kidding? Nah, Liz. You're my friend."

* * *

Evanna sat downstairs in the cellar with Damon and Liz.

"Barbie's back." Damon informed them quietly.

Liz spoke to the person on the other line,"Yeah, stomach bug. Came on really fast. I'll definitely be out tomorrow - maybe longer. I'll text you. Goodnight."

Liz handed the phone back to Damon who smiled,"Thank you. It's not exactly the Ritz, but it's secure. I brought a good bed camp and once the vervain is worked out of your system, I will compel you, you will forget everything and you will be a free woman."

"All of this time and I had no clue about you."

Evanna set a comforting hand on Liz's shoulder,"Sometimes ignorance is bliss."

"Oh, fine, keep pretending you're still mad at me."

"Not pretending."

"Oh yeah, why'd you save me?"

"You're going to make me regret that, aren't you?"

"I feel like I'm intruding on something." Liz told them, and Damon shrugged.

"It's nothing. Just a lover's tiff."

Evanna glared,"No, there are no lovers. I'm going upstairs."

"I'll be right up, honey."

"Zip it!"

* * *

Evanna joined Caroline in the living room,"Want me to drop you home?"

"I can't go home."

"Why not?"

"I'm scared."

"Why? Care, you can talk to me."

"Katherine's gonna be there and she's gonna want me to tell her everything that happened today. She told me I had to spy on all of you and report back to her."

"Or what?"

"She threatened Matt, Evanna."

"Is that why you've been sabotaging Stefan and Elena?"

"I didn't want to, but she doesn't want them together. I'm so scared of her, Evanna!"

"You should be, we all should be." Evanna said, embracing the blonde.

"Why is she doing this? What does she want?"

"That's the million dollar question."

* * *

Evanna tucked a blanket around a sleeping Caroline.

Meredith and Elena had gone home, but Evanna had stayed behind with Caroline.

She walked out into the hallway where Damon intercepted her.

"Caroline's sleeping on the couch."

"I heard, and you...?"

"I'm going home." She answered, walking around him.

She stopped at the door,"What you did for Caroline's mom, that's the Damon who was my friend."


	6. Chapter 6

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Hey! Sorry this is late. I convinced my parents to by me a bunny yesterday, who I have named Benjamin Hopkins, and I was busy looking after him. He's taking a nap, so I immediately hopped onto my laptop.**

**Heh, **_**hopped**_**. So punny.**

**Anyway, enjoy and review!**

* * *

The next day, Evanna went shopping at the grocery store with her Grams.

"So, the masquerade party is tomorrow night. You wanna come?" Evanna asked innocently, standing on the back of the cart.

"I'll think about it."

"It'll be ... fun. Maybe." Evanna shrugged as Sheila took control over the cart again.

As they turned the corner into the other aisle, Evanna bumped into someone. She was hit with a flash; Mason and Elena - no,_ Katherine_ - kissing in bed.

"Mason?" Evanna frowned, realizing by his facial expression that she had caught him off guard as much as he had her.

"Evanna. Sheila, hi."

"Hello, Mason." Sheila nodded her head politely.

"Sorry to cut this meeting short, but my sister in law wants me back at the house. Masquerade preparations and all."

"Of course." Sheila waved off.

Mason left the store quickly and Sheila turned her gaze on her granddaughter,"More drama?"

"Just a bit." Evanna answered, pulling out her phone,"Hey, Stefan. We have a problem. I ran into Mason at the store and you'll never guess _who_ Katherine's been doing in her spare time..."

* * *

Sheila and Evanna dropped Sheila's groceries home before dropping by the Lockwoods.

Damon met them by the door, and Evanna frowned,"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for my baby bro. Speaking of… you should tell _your_ baby cousin to stop following me around."

"What's going on?"

Damon nodded towards Jeremy before slipping away,"Ask him."

"Hey." Jeremy greeted his cousin, smiling.

"Jeremy, what is Damon making you do?"

"He's not making me do anything, Damon and I…"

"No way, no, no, no, no. There is no 'Damon and you'. There's Damon and whoever Damon is using, and those people, they end up dead. Whatever is going on Jeremy, I want you to stay out of it."

"I don't really care what you want, Evanna. It's because of you and Elena that I'm in this mess in the first place so I'm sorry, you don't really get to tell me what I'm gonna do."

Sheila wrapped an arm around Evanna,"Don't worry. He's just being a teenager."

"Grams, I'm a teenager. I'm not that much older than him."

"You've had your fair share of tantrums."

"One! When I was thirteen! You're never gonna let that go."

* * *

"Evanna!"

Evanna turned around and spotted Stefan walking towards her. Behind him, Damon smirked and waved.

"What's up?"

"We need a favor." Damon replied, crossing his arms.

Stefan nodded his head towards a small patio,"About what you saw."

Evanna followed them outside,"What do you need?"

"We need you to distract Mason Lockwood."

"He's not going to trust me, Stefan. I hurled him into a tree. He doesn't know what I am but he knows I can hurt him."

"Fine, get Sheila to lure him away and then you can do that magic mind thingy. It works on anyone with a supernatural healing ability, right?" Damon shrugged.

"Yeah. I'll see what I can do." Evanna moved to walk away and turned back,"There's something else, isn't there?"

"You may have to touch him and see if you can get a vision." Damon explained.

Stefan's phone began to ring.

Staring at the screen, Stefan frowned,"I have to get this. Excuse me."

Damon and Evanna nodded in unison and watched him walk away.

Evanna resumed her conversation with Damon,"What am I supposed to see?"

"We want to know if Mason gave Katherine the moonstone."

The moonstone. A stone that Katherine desperately wanted for some unknown reason. They figured it had something to do with the curse, but they couldn't be sure. Even so, they didn't want it anywhere near Katherine.

Evanna had learned all of that through a text. A text that came at three AM when she was trying to sleep. Damon had gotten some colorful language after that stunt.

"Alright. Give me fifteen minutes."

* * *

Sheila feigned her struggle with removing the table from the back of a truck.

Mason got out of his car and jogged over,"Sheila, how did you get stuck with doing this yourself?"

"The boys baled. Something about draft pix, I don't know, I don't speak 'teenage boy'."

Mason chuckled,"Here, let me help you."

Sheila smiled,"Thank you, dear."

She moved back, and that's where Evanna came out of the house, focusing her magic on Mason.

He gripped his head and fell to his knees.

Damon came out behind her, speeding towards Mason. He knocked Mason out with his knee, walked towards Mason's truck and opened the passenger side door for Evanna. Sheila had already situated herself in the backseat. Evanna looked at an unconcious Mason for a second but sighed and climbed up into his car.

Stefan arrived, and he and Damon picked Mason up and put him in the trunk. Damon got into the driver's side, while Stefan headed back inside.

* * *

"Here's his bag." Evanna stated, setting it down on the chair,"As requested."

"Okay, grab that corner." Damon instructed, setting a cloth (similar to one a person would put on the ground while painting) on the ground under the chair Mason was slumped over in.

Sheila was keeping an eye on him in case he woke up.

"Why are we doing this?" Evanna questioned him, despite unfolding the corner anyway.

"Because I don't want to stain the carpet."

Evanna rolled her eyes,"I knew you'd say something like that."

"He's not going to be out much longer." Sheila called, her eyes following Damon as he headed towards the bag.

Damon pulled chains from inside the bag,"Looks like this guy's used to being chained up..."

Evanna slipped in front of her Grams and placed her hands on the sides of Mason's head.

Sheila stepped back, ready to watch how far her granddaughter's powers had come. They were still training whenever they could, but these days, time was of value.

Damon began chaining Mason to the chair,"Evanna ... what are you doing?"

"You're looking for the moonstone and I'm trying to help you find it."

"Oh good, yeah. Find out if he gave it to Katherine and find out where she is, and find out what they're gonna do with it once they get it."

Evanna closed her eyes and blew out a steady breath.

Concentration and even breathing, that's what her Grams had said.

"Somewhere small, dark, there's water."

Damon frowned, speaking lowly as to not break her trance,"Like a sewer?"

"No. Like a well? That can't be right. Yeah. It's a well."

"Why would it be in a well?"

"Damon, I'm a witch not a guidebook." Evanna opened her eyes and blinked at him.

Damon shrugged and straightened up, tugging on the chain to see if it'd hold.

Suddenly, Mason jerked and grabbed Evanna's arm in a firm, bruising grip. Damon pulled her away from him.

"Okay," Evanna began, massaging her wrist,"That's all I got. Grams and I have to go back before Carol has a freak attack. Have fun with Clifford."

"I'm using that."

"I'm surprised you haven't already. Bye."

* * *

Sheila and Evanna were almost out of the house when Caroline came upstairs from the basement.

"Evanna!"

"Care, how're you doing?"

"I'm ... getting there."

"How's your mom?" Sheila asked gently,"Evanna filled me in."

"I'm gonna take her home tonight."

"Hey, Care? You remember that old well we used to play by when we were kids?"

"Yeah."

"It's in the woods, right? Can you remember where?"

"On the edge of the old Lockwood property. Why?"

"I think that's where Mason is keeping the moonstone. You wanna come?"

"Yes! I'm beginning to go crazy in this place."

* * *

When Caroline, Evanna and Sheila reached the well, they realized something was very wrong.

They had texted Stefan, telling him to look for the moonstone, but they hadn't mentioned anything to Elena. They hadn't gotten to.

The older Gilbert came flying towards them the second they arrived.

"Elena?"

"Evanna, oh my God. There's vervain in the well. We have to get Stefan out."

* * *

Not ten minutes later, Elena, safely encased in chains, was lowered into the well.

Caroline was holding onto it, while Evanna watched every movement.

Sheila stood by the edge of the trees, keeping an eye out for any stragglers that might be hanging around.

Elena reached the bottom and unchained herself, wrapping them around Stefan instead.

"Elena? How is he?" Caroline called.

"Pull him up! Hurry."

Caroline complied, pulling Stefan up quickly.

Evanna grabbed onto him when he appeared, pulling him off the edge and freeing him from the chains.

He was severely burned and only semi-conscious.

"Elena! I'm pulling you up!" Caroline yelled down into the well.

"Hold on! I need to find the stone!"

The only sounds were the wildlife, Stefan's moans and the sound of water. That was, until Elena screamed.

"Elena!" Evanna ran back to the well and looked down.

"What's happening?" Sheila questioned.

Elena looked up,"It's fine! I think I have it! Pull me up!"

The first thing Elena saw when she surfaced was Stefan.

"Oh my God!" She dropped beside Stefan, handing the box to Caroline.

Elena picked up a sharp stone and cut her wrist, pressing it to Stefan's lips and making him drink.

"We got the stone, Stefan. It's gonna be okay."

Evanna looked back down in the well,"Are they snakes?"

"Yeah." Elena answered,"They were on my arm and everything."

Caroline and Evanna shared a look before backing away from the well in perfect synchrony.

* * *

Evanna drove Sheila home and then picked Elena up from the boarding house.

Jenna was cooking dinner, and had called them all home.

"Have you seen Jeremy?"

"Not since this morning." Evanna replied.

"I think Damon's gotten him into something."

"That I do know. Jeremy says that he wasn't roped into it. I told him to stay out of whatever it was but he just turned into rebellious teenager."

"We're not going to be able to keep him away from these things are we?" Elena sighed, leaning her head against the window.

"I don't know. I suppose, if he _is _going to be in the middle of things, all that we can do is protect him from the inside."

Elena nodded,"Probably best. Come on, let's go enjoy our family dinner."

Evanna snorted,"The only normal part of our day."

Evanna shrugged off her jacket in the hallway, skipping along behind Elena into the kitchen.

"Where's Jeremy?" Elena asked their history teacher.

"Oh, he went straight up to his room. He said he wasn't hungry."

Evanna spotted Jenna on the phone and nodded her head towards their aunt,"Who's she talking to?"

"Don't know. Did everything go okay today?"

"There were a few hiccups but yeah." Elena grimaced, and Alaric nodded, fully understanding.

Jenna walked back into them, the phone still up to her ear,"Of course, I understand. Elena, the phone's for you."

Elena took the phone and walked away from them. Evanna began helping Alaric pull out cutlery as Elena talked on the phone.

"Jenna, do you- Jenna!" Evanna exclaimed, rushing towards her aunt.

"Jenna, no!" Elena screamed, dropping the phone.

Jenna plunged the steak knife she'd been holding into her stomach. Alaric caught her.

"Who was on the phone?!" Evanna asked, pulling out her mobile.

"It was Katherine. She-she compelled Jenna!" Elena called back, pressing the cloth against Jenna's stomach.

"Hello? I need an ambulance to 2104 Maple Street." Evanna told the dispatcher. She looked back at Jenna.

"There's been an accident."

* * *

Jenna was going to be okay.

Alaric stayed in the hospital room with her, Elena cried into Jeremy in the waiting room, and Evanna slipped outside.

She leaned against the wall and tilted her head up, looking at the sky. She was close to breaking point; she could feel it. That's why she was no use for comfort at that moment. If she as much as heard something sad, she'd break. Air, that's what she needed. Evanna closed her eyes and took deep breaths through her nose. She thought about calling her Grams, but decided not to.

She just wanted to be alone.

* * *

After saying goodnight to Jenna, Evanna decided to drop Elena to the boarding house.

They had to know what Katherine had done, and Elena really needed to talk to Stefan. About what, she didn't know.

Evanna still wasn't up for talking; the entire ride over was silent.

So while Elena talked to Stefan, Evanna hung out in by the back. She leaned against the back door's frame, staring back at the stars. She was thinking about her grandfather; Grant. Grant had been an amazing man. Loving husband, amazing father, supportive grandfather. Whenever Evanna needed someone to talk to, Grant had been there. Raina and Noel had never been as mature as she had been, so she had felt responsible for them in some way. After he died, Evanna's protectiveness had just heightened. Evanna took on all the responsibility, but sometimes felt like she had no one to talk to.

Evanna felt the tears well up. She couldn't keep it in anymore; she had lost all control over her emotions.

She needed to get into her car, she didn't want Stefan and/or Damon hearing her cry. A tear slipped down her cheek as she hurried through the hallway, holding her stomach with one hand. She couldn't breathe, and the nausea in her stomach made her mind whirl. She reached the door, and went to open it.

"Evanna..." A voice called softly behind her.

Concern and sorrow for her was laced in the voice, and for a second, Evanna felt slightly comforted.

Damon's blue eyes bore into her teary brown orbs,"I riled Katherine up by killing Mason. I wasn't thinking. I didn't think!"

"It doesn't matter, Damon." Evanna felt another wave of despair flood her,"She won."

Evanna whispered the last part; it was all she could do.

"Katherine won."

* * *

**Well, that was angst-y *le sob***

**Anyway, I'll do my best to update again tomorrow, but baby bunnies are like actual babies, and my dogs have never matured, so it's like I have three sons. Oi...**

**~EmBee.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

The next day, Evanna spent in her room.

In fact, all of Thursday was split between the hospital and her bedroom.

She was exhausted, but when she woke on Friday, she felt better. The outburst had lifted a lot of weight off her heart, fueling the energy she had been lacking. Pressure had been replaced by fight, and Evanna was ready to do so.

Jenna was returning from the hospital that afternoon, so Evanna got showered and dressed.

Elena and Matt had gone to get her while Jeremy and Evanna set up the house.

"They're here!" Evanna squealed, jumping up and down excitedly. She pulled open the front door and beamed,"Welcome home!"

"Hey you two." Jenna smiled, watching Jeremy place his hands on Evanna's shoulders to stop her from bouncing off the walls.

Matt and Elena slowly helped Jenna step into the house.

"Easy." Matt told her, making Jenna roll her eyes.

"Will you guys stop fussing?"

"The doctors said that you have to take it easy. You could rip your stitches." Elena reminded her.

"Before or after I die of embarrassment?"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Jen." Evanna chastised, closing the door behind them.

"Oh yeah? I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?"

"It was a freak accident." Jeremy said,"It happens."

"Yeah," Matt chuckled,"I've done it like, twenty times at the Grill."

"Or you could just be like Evanna, Jen. Naturally clumsy." Elena giggled behind her palm.

"Things hit into _me_!"

"Yeah, like the wall. That _never _stays put."

"Oh, I'm Jeremy and I'm so funny!"

Jenna smiled warmly, laughing,"I missed you guys."

"We missed you, too."

* * *

Evanna, Elena and Jeremy slipped into the kitchen to make lunch while Matt stayed with Jenna in the living room, where she was set up on the couch.

"So, what are we going to do?" Jeremy asked them.

Evanna frowned, holding up the plastic bag of rolls,"Make lunch."

"No, about Katherine."

Elena sighed,"We're not going to do anything, Jer."

"She tried to kill Jenna. We can't let her get away with that."

"Yes we can. If it keeps us safe then we can." Elena told her brother, who was clearly upset by it.

"And what if she tries something else?"

"She won't. Katherine hurt Jenna because I didn't do what she said. I'm not doing it now, me and Stefan are over. She wins, the end."

"You are being naïve, Elena, and you know it." Jeremy fumed, walking out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Evanna called after him.

"Out. I'll be back soon."

Evanna turned back to Elena,"I'll talk to him. You okay here?"

"Yeah. Go. Good luck."

* * *

Jeremy was a fast walker, and was already turning onto another block when Evanna ran up to him.

"Jer, wait!"

"I don't want to hear how we're going to let Katherine run all over us, Ava."

"Good, 'cause that's not why I'm here."

Jeremy stopped walking,"Huh?"

"I agree with you, okay? I don't think Katherine is just going to leave us alone now. She's incapable of letting people be happy. The only way to keep the people _we _love safe, is to stop her."

"I'm sensing a but..."

"_But _we have to smart about it. Katherine wants a war? Then we'll bring it to her."

* * *

Turns out they weren't the only ones who thought so.

Katherine had approached Caroline at the Grill, but she'd managed to get away.

Alaric, Caroline, Jeremy, Evanna, Meredith, Stefan and Damon were gathered in the Salvatore's living room. Alaric was showing them how to kill a vampire. Evanna had done so before with her powers, but she still paid close attention.

"This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here. I have two of these in a different size. For you," He looked at the brothers,"I recommend this. It fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready."

Alaric demonstrated how it worked, which made Stefan and Damon share a look.

Alaric shrugged,"You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire. Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?"

The plan was to use the Lockwood's masquerade party to their advantage. They weren't a hundred percent sure Katherine would show up, but then again, Katherine loved to make a show. Evanna hadn't been planning to go either, but now she had good reason to.

"No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this." Stefan answered, prompting Alaric to nod.

"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight."

* * *

Evanna checked her dress in the mirror of Damon's room.

Jeremy and her had snuck home, gotten their outfits and snuck back out again.

The less Elena knew, the less danger she was in.

Evanna had chosen a short, strapless turquoise sequin cocktail dress. She'd bought it ages ago, but hadn't found reason to wear it until now. It hugged her curves perfectly, and Evanna was pretty sure she was falling in love with it. Her vervain necklace matched it perfectly, as did the givenchy black platforms that Caroline had given her for her birthday last year.

Evanna left her hair curly like always, letting it reach to just under her bust. As for her mask, she'd picked a turquoise and silver, glittery mask that she could put over her head. The string was hidden under her locks.

She met Caroline in the hallway, where the blonde smirked.

"What?"

"You look hot." Caroline winked teasingly.

Evanna laughed, linking arms with her,"Care, we don't do this in public."

The sound of Caroline's bubbly laughter carried through the house as they entered the living room. Meredith was wearing a silver dress that complimented her fiery red locks.

The three girls formed a line as they linked together, the only thing missing from the chain being Elena.

Jeremy, Stefan and Damon were clad in black tie attire, but if you looked close enough, you could see the bumps under their jacket sleeves where the weapons were. Each of the girls had stakes and vervain darts in their purses too. No chances were being taken.

The plan was to have Caroline lure Katherine to a room that Evanna had put a spell on.

They'd trap her in there with Stefan and Damon, and they'd kill her.

Meredith would stay outside with Evanna while she kept the spell up, and Jeremy would act as the message boy, keeping tabs on both parts.

It was the only thing Evanna could think of to keep him safe.

Tonight, Evanna hoped, would be the night Katherine was stopped.

* * *

When they got to the Lockwood's, Jeremy brought Evanna upstairs to the room.

"I thought this room could work."

"It's perfect. Close the curtains, would you?"

"Sure." Jeremy looked at the book Evanna took out of the bag she'd been given by Stefan,"Is that the spell book I read about in Jonathan Gilbert's old journal?"

"It's my ancestors; Emily Bennett's. The spell I'm doing here is similar to the one that sealed the vampires into the tomb."

Jeremy caught the bag Evanna threw to him and stuffed it in the closet. It wasn't of any sentimental value to either brother anyway.

"Can you do _all_ the stuff that's in there?"

Evanna nodded,"I mean it takes practice. I've worked on some small spells. Spells that only do good."

"Wow, you're 100% witch, that is so cool."

* * *

Evanna and Jeremy headed back downstairs, the grimoire hid in the bag,"We need to let Stefan and Damon know that the room is ready."

Evanna stopped suddenly, making her cousin frown,"What's up?"

"You feel that?"

"No. Are you cold?"

"No." Evanna spotted a tall, olive-skinned woman standing by a door and headed over,"Excuse me. Do I know you?"

"No, I'm a plus one, I know no one, but it's a great party though." The woman replied with a friendly smile before walking away.

Jeremy rejoined her,"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just got a weird vibe. Let's find the guys."

Stefan and Damon were situated upstairs while Jeremy and Evanna hung back downstairs, waiting for the signal.

When Jeremy got the text, he'd do his part while Evanna met Meredith outside.

"So, can you like, do a hocus pocus to ace a test?"

Evanna laughed,"Sorry, don't know that spell, Jer."

"It'd be like the first one I'd learn."

"How are we cousins again?"

Jeremy chuckled, and then his phone beeped. Evanna nodded.

"Show time."

* * *

Evanna heard her name being called and stopped walking.

Slowly, she turned around, knowing she'd been busted.

"Elena... lovely night out, huh?"

"Don't try that. You're trying to kill Katherine here?"

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy confessed.

Elena pointed her finger at him,"Okay, _you _need to stop with the we. Are you two insane? You'll get killed."

"We know what we're doing, Elena." Evanna told her.

"And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because Katherine hates me?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes and sighed,"It's not just you anymore, Elena. She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped."

"Elena, we love you, but you have to see this for what it is." Evanna pleaded, clasping her hands,"Katherine strives to make everyone's life a living hell. Just because you and Stefan are over doesn't mean she's finished. She's still going after Caroline. Now you can help us, or you can sulk."

"Fine, what's the plan?"

* * *

They sat outside with Meredith, each of them talking calmly until Elena screamed in pain.

Evanna noticed the blood that was seeping through her pink top,"Elena!"

"What's going on?!" Jeremy yelled, holding his sister up.

Elena screamed again as blood stained the sleeve of her right arm.

"It's Katherine!" Evanna realized,"Jeremy, go tell Stefan and Damon that Katherine's linked to Elena. Everything they do to her happens to Elena!"

Jeremy nodded and ran off towards the Lockwood's house.

"How is she doing this?" Meredith asked, as Evanna held Elena tightly.

"I don't kn - she has a witch."

"Evanna, it hurts."

"I know, sweetie. Okay, I can't break the spell but I can take the pain away."

Evanna knelt down in front of Elena and took her hands.

She gritted her teeth as the spell began to work. Evanna was taking Elena's pain into her own body and transferring some of her own energy to Elena. When it was done, Evanna almost fell over, but Meredith caught her and sat her on the bench.

Jeremy ran back then,"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah." Elena nodded,"Are they?"

"They're stuck in there with her. Evanna, you were right. Katherine has a witch on her side."

Evanna nodded, standing up. Her legs weren't jelly anymore, but she still felt the pain when she moved.

Evanna masked it well as she spoke,"Stay with Elena. Keep pressure on her wounds and I'll be back. I have to find that woman."

* * *

Upstairs in the Lockwood house, Katherine was sat on the couch, supremely happy with herself.

Stefan was worried about Elena while Damon was testing Evanna's spell.

"The three of us together just like old times. The brother who loved me too much and the one that didn't love me enough." Katherine mused.

"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself." Damon grinned, putting his hand up to the barrier.

"What happened to you Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite."

"Oh that Damon died a _long _time ago."

"Good. He was a bore."

Stefan rolled his eyes,"Oh, why don't you two stop antagonizing each other?"

"Where is the moonstone?"

"Depends." Stefan said,"What do you want with it?"

"Look at you two, working together. It's as if there was no rivalry between you both."

Stefan and Damon shared a look before Stefan snorted,"That was really desperate, Katherine. Don't you think that we can see right through you? But, if we are going to change the subject ... this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all vampires so what's in that for you?"

"Sorry about your pet wolf, probably should have kept him on a tighter leash." Damon smirked at her, and she shrugged,"I'll have to remember that for next time. He's not the only wolf in town."

Damon tested the shield again and sighed,"Where's Evanna?"

"We could play charades." Katherine offered sarcastically.

"You bargained the moonstone."

Damon looked over at his brother,"What are you mumbling about over there?"

Stefan peered at Katherine,"When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?"

"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus two... and it would have worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." Katherine rounded back to Damon,"Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

"You and me both, honey."

Katherine smirked,"At least you're over that now."

"Meaning?"

"Evanna. She's pretty, I'll give you that. I've seen you around her, it's kind've sweet. Too bad that you guys _can never go down that road_."

Damon slammed Katherine up against the wall,"You've been spying."

"I like a good show."

Damon held a stake up, and Katherine laughed,"Oh, you're not gonna kill me. If Elena dies, it'll kill Evanna. You won't have that."

"Damon, let her go. She's not worth it." Stefan told him and Damon listened,"Katherine, what were you doing with the moonstone to begin with? Unless... it wasn't yours in the first place."

"You're on fire tonight, Stefan."

"In 1864, you faked your death. Who were you running from?"

"In 1987 you were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench, Lexi. Come on Stefan, don't look so surprised. Of course I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi and I was watching _you_."

"Who were you running from?"

Katherine simply smirked.

* * *

Evanna finally found the woman in the dining room.

"You're looking for me?" She asked.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lucy."

"What are you doing here?"

"I should have known I'd run into a Bennett."

"How do you know me?"

"I'm an old family friend. Do you remember Joanne?"

"My grandmother's best friend?"

"Yes, do you remember her daughter?"

"My old babysitter?"

Lucy laughed,"Yes. My mother and your grandmother trained together. Knew each other since childhood."

"Joanne's a good witch. She hated anything evil. Why are you working with Katherine?"

"I have no interest in fighting you." Lucy said and Evanna raised an eyebrow,"Then stop the spell you put on my cousin."

"Give Katherine the moonstone and I will."

"I was a stubborn kid, you always said that. That hasn't changed. _Why _are you helping Katherine?"

"That bitch saved my life. I owe her."

"Lucy, Katherine probably saved your life so she could use you. If she gets her way, she's going to kill you. Either that, or Damon is if he tracks you down. We can stop her, we just need you to help us."

"You have the moonstone. I can feel it on you."

"It's safe with me. I need to know if it's safe with you."

* * *

"Lucy!" Katherine grinned,"It's about time. Do you have my moonstone?"

Lucy smiled and handed it over. Katherine gripped it and then began to choke. She dropped the moonstone and fell to the ground.

"You should have told me another witch was involved. She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that."

"Wait, Elena-!"

"Is fine." Lucy told Stefan,"The spell is broken. Evanna's with her now. She'll heal quickly. I apologize for my involvement. Thank Evanna for giving me the reality check."

* * *

Lucy was heading towards her car when Evanna caught up with her, mask free.

"Hey, leaving so soon?"

"It was enough excitement for one day. I always imagined you'd recieve the powers. There was always something in you. I bet your grandmother is proud."

"Thank you. For everything. Damon's going to take care of Katherine. She knows more, so we're not going to kill her."

Lucy nodded,"I always figured she did."

Lucy pulled a card out of her purse,"Tell Sheila to give me a call. And if you ever need anything, feel free to call yourself."

Evanna smiled,"I will. Goodbye, Lucy."

"Bye."

* * *

Damon glanced at his watch when Katherine began to stir.

They were in the tomb, just like planned.

"It's about time."

"Where am I?"

"Where you should have been all along. I thought you'd have learned your lesson by now, messing with a Bennett witch."

"You should have killed me."

"Oh, but death would have been too kind." Damon began closing the door of the tomb.

"No, Damon, wait! You need me! Evanna's in danger!"

"Is she?"

Katherine didn't answer so Damon rolled his eyes,"You're lying, you're always lying."

"Why do you think I haven't killed her? Because she's the _electi_, she needs to be protected."

"Then I'll protect her, while you rot in hell."

Damon closed the door on her then, despite her desperate begging and screams.

* * *

Evanna glanced down at her phone, watching the text she'd sent her sister go through.

Jeremy and Elena were already on their way home, but Evanna had planned to go to her grandmother's house.

Something hit her head and she fell to the gravel path, unconscious. Her phone fell a little ways away, and was left there as her limp body was lifted up and put in the back of a truck.

"This is her?"

"Yes."

"She's so little."

"But she's powerful, so keep her down."


	8. Chapter 8

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

The next morning, Jenna slowly walked into the kitchen.

"Jenna! You shouldn't be walking-"

"Elena, I'm fine. The doctor said I could move around as long as I don't overdue it. Did Evanna leave already?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"Her bed's made."

"Hm, maybe she stayed over at her Grams. She told us that she'd be late."

"Right. Okay, I'm worrying for nothing. She probably went to school from there. I mean, she keeps clothes at Sheila's."

Elena nodded, tossing Jenna a calm smile.

"Exactly, now if you excuse me, I will go and see Evanna at school."

* * *

Alaric walked into his history class in a good mood.

Katherine was in the tomb and Jenna was already improving.

"Morning class." He greeted, and his eyes doing a sweep of his students.

Alaric paused, noticing the empty seat by the window in the third row. He glanced at Elena and Stefan and realized the worried looks on their faces meant more to him than anyone else in the classroom.

"Shoot, I forgot the... projector. Stefan, Elena, help me?"

The three of them headed out into the hallway.

"Where's Evanna?"

"We don't know." Elena ran a hand through her hair, stressed.

"Hey, Elena!" Tyler called, jogging up,"Uh, sorry I'm late, Mr. Saltzman."

"That's alright, Tyler. Class hasn't started yet."

"Anyway, Elena, I found Evanna's phone on the ground last night. I figured it slipped out of her purse. Oh, and don't forget to remind her that her car is still in the driveway." Tyler handed the phone to Elena who said thanks, and headed into the classroom.

Stefan walked away from the group, heading towards the office.

"I'll get Damon."

* * *

Evanna wriggled her wrists under the ropes that were tied around them.

Her legs were bound too. She had tried to use her powers but she was still weak from the night before.

"What do you want?" She asked the male vampire who had carried her inside.

"Ssh. I just want a taste."

"Trevor!" The female vampire called angrily,"Control yourself!"

Trevor's face returned to normal as he looked at the pixie-haired British woman,"Buzz kill."

The female vampire watched him go before staring at Evanna.

"What do you want with me?"

"I want you to be quiet."

"Why?"

"I said be quiet!" The vampire yelled, backhanding her so hard that she fell unconscious.

* * *

"This has Katherine written all over it."

"Katherine's in the tomb, Stefan. I'm sure of it. I'm the one who shut her in there." Damon exhaled, pacing.

"Did you?"

Damon paused, his eyes narrowing into slits,"Did I what, Stefan? She's in the tomb, period. End of story..." He paused again, grimacing,"But she did say something to me right before I shut her in. I thought she was lying."

"What did she say?"

"Evanna's in danger."

"What?" Stefan exclaimed, extending his arms,"And you didn't think you should ask her to elaborate?"

"Everything she says is a lie. How am I supposed to know if she's gonna start spouting out the truth?"

"Damon, we have to go talk to her."

"No, no. Let me tell you how that's gonna go: We're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release which we're gonna be dumb enough to give her and she's gonna get out and kill us! This is exactly what she wants!"

"I don't really care."

"It's a bad idea, Stefan."

"Damon, it's _Evanna_."

* * *

Evanna opened her eyes groggily and listened to the conversation going on behind her.

"How's the girl?" The woman asked.

"Still passed out." Trevor replied.

"You didn't touch her, did you?"

"Rose, give me some credit. So, you called him?"

"No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works."

"Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?"

"They say he got it."

"Wonderful, and what?"

Evanna stood up and slowly walked towards the wall. She leaned against it and listened in.

"So, that's it, Trevor. He either got it or he didn't. We just have to wait."

"Look, it's not too late. We can leave it here. We don't have to go through with this."

"I'm sick of running!" Rose exclaimed in frustration.

Trevor's voice was grave,"Yeah? Well, running keeps us from dying."

"Elijah's old school. If he accepts our deal, we're free."

Evanna accidentally moved her leg, and stepped on a squeaky board.

Rose turned and glared,"You! There's nothing around here for miles. If you think you're getting out of this house, you're tragically wrong. Understand?"

Evanna stared back evenly,"Who's Elijah?"

"Your worst nightmare."

* * *

"I can't undo the tomb spell, Stefan. It took both Evanna and myself to do so last time." Sheila told him as they sat in her kitchen.

"But I can open the door, right? I can talk to her?"

"Yes, but Damon is right. Katherine won't tell you anything, not without something in return."

"I know but what else can we do?"

"I think I know something."

* * *

Stefan drove Sheila to the school where Alaric called Elena out of class.

They used his empty classroom to set up the map and candles for Sheila's spell.

"How does this work?" Elena inquired, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Sheila.

"I'll use your blood to draw energy for the tracking spell. You're blood related; it'll make the connection stronger. I'd use my own blood, but I can't break concentration."

Elena nodded and held out her finger.

Stefan came back inside,"Alright, Alaric says we have ten minutes and then we have to clear out."

"It'll be done in less than five." Sheila promised, pricking Elena's finger.

Elena winced softly as she dropped her blood onto the map.

"Sorry, dear."

"It's alright."

Sheila concentrated and watched the small blood drops merge into one and travel across the map. It didn't leave any stain as it moved. Finally, it stopped and settled.

"There." Sheila pointed,"Evanna's there."

Elena frowned,"That's 300 miles away."

"I wish I could get a more exact location, but I can't."

Stefan shook his head,"It's fine. We can map it, aerial view will show us what's around there, help us narrow down the area. Call me with whatever you find."

Elena got up,"We're coming with you!"

"No, no you're not."

"We can't just sit here, Stefan."

"You won't be. Help Sheila track her down. It could be dangerous."

"Oh, and knowing you're going into a possibly dangerous situation is supposed to comfort me?"

"I'll be okay."

"Not alone you won't be."

Damon appeared in the door way,"Relax, Doppelganger Gilbert. He won't be alone."

Stefan turned around,"You're coming with me?"

Damon folded his arms, shrugging easily.

"It's Evanna."

* * *

Damon glanced back at the trunk in the back seat of his car,"Alaric _sure _loves his weapons."

He glanced at his brother who was turning a small bottle of vervain in his hands,"What is that, anyway?"

"I don't know, it's a vervain bomb or a grenade launcher or something like that."

"Weird."

Stefan looked up,"Hey, how much further is it?"

"About 80 miles."

"Who do you think took her?"

"Probably someone from Katherine's past. She said she was running from someone. They got the wrong girl. I mean, Elena's the doppelganger, not Evanna."

"Thank you for helping me."

Damon groaned dramatically,"Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing? The cliché of it all makes me itch."

"Oh, come on Damon. We both know that you being in this car has absolutely nothing to do with me anyway."

"The elephant in the room lets out a mighty roar."

"It doesn't have to be an elephant. Let's talk about it."

"Nothing to talk about, Stefan."

"That's not true. I'm sure there is. Just get it out." Stefan smirked,"I mean, are you in this car because you want to help your little brother's best friend? Or is it because you love her too, but in a different way? Hmm? I mean come on, express yourself. I happen to like road trip bonding."

"Keep it up, Stefan. I can step out of this as fast I stepped in."

"That's the beauty of it." Stefan grinned,"You can't."

* * *

Evanna knew it could be pushing it, but she followed Rose into the empty room.

She was still weak from the spell she'd cast on Elena the night before. The pain along with the energy she'd given to Elena had taken its toll on her powers. She needed a recharge, but the chance to do so would be a while.

"Why am I here?"

Rose snorted softly,"You keep asking me these questions as though you'll get an answer."

"Why won't you?"

"That's another one."

"You've got me, okay? It's not like I can go anywhere. The least you can do is tell me what you want with me."

"I personally want nothing; I'm just a delivery service."

"Delivery to who? Elijah?"

"Two points to the eavesdropper."

"Who is he? A vampire?"

"He's one of the vampires, the originals."

"What do you mean the _originals_?"

"Again with the questions. Haven't the Salvatore's been teaching you your vampire history?"

Evanna nodded once,"So, you know Stefan and Damon?"

"I know _of_ them. A hundred years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Stefan. She said he was one of the good ones. I'm more of a sucker for the bad boys though but I digress."

"Who are the originals?"

"Trevor and I have been running for 500 years." Rose said evasively,"We're tired, we want it over. We're using you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess."

"But why me?"

"Because you're the _electi_. You're the key to breaking the curse."

"The curse? The sun and the moon curse?"

A look of genuine surprise passed over Rose,"Oh, you do know your history."

"What do you mean I'm the key? The moonstone is what breaks the curse."

"No, the moonstone is what binds the curse. The sacrifice is what breaks it."

"The sacrifice?"

"The blood of the _electi_. You're the _electi_. Which means, in order to break the curse you're the one who has to die."

* * *

Evanna was still talking to Rose when Trevor came in.

"Tell me more." Evanna asked Rose, making Trevor chuckle,"Captivity has made you pushy, eh? What do you want to know electi-licious?"

Evanna turned around to face him,"Who were you running from?"

"The originals."

"Yeah, she said that." Evanna tilted her head in Rose's direction flippantly,"What does that mean?"

"The first family, the old world. Rose and I pissed them off."

Rose cleared her throat.

"Correction, _I_ pissed them off. Rose had my back and for over half a millennium, they wanted us dead."

"What did you do?"

"He made the same mistake countless others did: he trusted Katerina Petrova." Rose explained.

"Katherine." Evanna sighed, rolling her eyes.

"The one and only, the first Petrova doppelganger."

"I helped her escape her fate." Trevor explained,"And now, I've - sorry, _we've _been marked ever since."

Rose nodded and huffed.

"Which is why we're not gonna make the same mistake again."

* * *

Evanna was scribbling on a piece of blank paper when slowly, ink started to seep along the top line, even though she was holding the pen.

Narrowing her eyes, she read the words as they appeared.

_Stefan and Damon are on their way - Grams._

Evanna smiled, scrunching up the paper and putting it in her purse, which thankfully was on the couch too.

* * *

"We're getting close." Stefan informed his brother, looking at the map,"Jeremy said there's an access road just past mile marker 6."

Stefan glanced over at Damon and marveled at the asinine of the image in front of him. Damon had one hand on the wheel, sipping from a blood bag using one of those silly straws.

"If you want one, just ask." Damon sang teasingly.

"I want some."

"Aw, how sweet. You're gonna be all big and strong and save the girl but don't worry, I've got your back. It'll be fine."

"I'm not joking. I've been drinking a little every day. I'm slowly increasing my intake and building up my strength."

Damon shrugged and handed him a blood bag,"Does Elena know you've been drinking blood?"

"I've been drinking hers."

"Hm, how romantic. Since we're road trip bonding, remember the days when all you lived for was blood? You were the guy who ripped someone apart just for the fun of it."

"You mean when I was more like you?"

"Yes, Stefan, exactly. Back when you put blood into me so I could be a big bad vampire. I wonder if Elena would be so quick to open her veins to that guy. By the way, what happened to that guy? He was a hoot."

"I guess he found something else to live for."

* * *

Trevor hurried into the room where Rose and Evanna were,"He's here! This was a mistake."

"No, Trevor. I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me."

"No! He wants me dead, Rose!"

"He wants _her_ more."

"I can't do this. You give her to him, he'll have mercy on you but I need to get out of here."

"Hey! What are we?" Rose made him remember.

Trevor took a deep breath,"We're family. Forever."

The knock on the door made Evanna's heart skip, but she paid more attention to the two vampires in front of her.

"You're scared."

Rose turned to Trevor,"Stay here with her and don't make a sound."

* * *

"Rose-Marie. Is there somewhere we can talk?" Elijah asked, stepping inside and looking around the abandoned house.

"Yes, in here. You have to forgive the house."

"Oh, no, what's a little dirt? I completely understand. So tell me, what is it that gives you the courage to call me?"

"I wanted my freedom. I'm tired of running. You in a position to grant me that?"

"I have complete authority to grant pardon to you and your little pet. What is his name these days? Trevor. If I so see fit."

"I have the _electi_."

"Well, show her to me."

"Elijah, you are a man of honor, you should be trusted but I want to hear you say it again." Rose swallowed.

"You have my word that I will pardon you."

"Follow me."

* * *

Evanna looked up when the door opened.

Well he was certainly not what she expected; he looked young, dressed smartly in a suit, his hair falling just a little bit in his face.

Elijah rushed over to her and stopped in front of her. Evanna didn't even breathe.

"You exist. I thought it was impossible."

He smiled politely, tilting his head slightly.

"Hello, there. I'm Elijah."

* * *

"The house should be just beyond those trees." Damon said, closing the car door,"Wait, I got a lot more experience than you do with those sorts of things."

"What's your point?"

"My point is, whoever has Evanna is probably determined to keep her."

"And?"

"It puts them at old and strong. Are you sure you want to come with?"

"I'm sure, Damon."

"Okay, then. Off we go."

* * *

Evanna's heartbeat was crashing against her chest, but she kept her eyes locked on Elijah's every move.

"We have a long journey head of us. We should be going. Only one more matter of business and we'll be off."

Elijah approached Trevor, who immediately began rambling,"I've waited so long for this day, Elijah. I'm truly, very sorry."

"Oh no, your apologies not necessary."

"Yes, yes it is. You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you."

"Oh yes, you are the guilty one and Rose aided you because she was loyal to you and that now I honor. Where was your loyalty?"

"I beg your forgiveness."

"So granted."

Trevor smiled, looking as though centuries of stress had been lifted. His happiness was short lived as Elijah punched him so hard that his head came flying off. Rose screamed and began crying instantly.

"You…!"

"Don't, Rose, now that you are free." He turned to Evanna,"Come."

"No. What about the moonstone?"

"What do you know about the moonstone?"

"I know that you need it and I know where it is."

"Yes?"

"I can help you get it."

"Tell me where it is."

"Doesn't work that way."

"Are you negotiating with me?" Elijah looked back at Rose who shrugged.

"It's the first I've heard of it."

Elijah stepped back in front of Evanna and tried to compel her, only to realize it was useless.

He caught sight of her necklace,"What's this vervain doing around your neck?"

He ripped the necklace from her neck and threw it off somewhere. Evanna still did not know where the necklace came from, but she had become fond of it.

Elijah grabbed her face to keep her from looking away and used his compulsion again,"Tell me where the moonstone is."

"In the tomb, underneath the church ruins."

"What is it doing there?"

"It's with Katherine."

"Interesting."

The sound of glass breaking upstairs broke the compulsion.

"Who else is in the house, Rose?"

"I don't know."

Elijah grabbed Evanna by the arm and went upstairs, Rose trailing behind. Whoever it was, they were moving too fast.

Evanna felt safer, though, and realized it must be Damon and Stefan.

Elijah pushed Evanna into Rose's arms,"Rose?"

"I don't know who it is."

"Up here." Stefan's voice called.

Elijah sped up the grand stairs using his super speed.

"Down here." Damon called then, making a game out of it.

Elijah came back downstairs and got a stake through the hand because of it. He pulled it out and realized Rose and Evanna were gone.

Evanna's back was pressed against the wall, Damon with a finger pressed against her lips. She had no idea where Rose had gone, but Damon wasn't letting her move. She could barely breathe without touching off him, and the dress didn't help.

"Excuse me. To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear that?" They heard Elijah call from downstairs,"I repeat, you cannot beat me. So I want the girl, I'm gonna count to 3 or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?"

* * *

After only a few moments of silence, Evanna stepped out onto the top of the stairs,"I'll come with you, just please don't hurt my friends, they just wanted to help me out."

Elijah stepped up onto the stairs halfway and narrowed his eyes,"What game are you playing with me?"

Evanna pulled the pin on the vervain bomb behind her back and threw it at him, diving out of the way before she was hit by any of it.

Those heels were killing her.

He healed faster than he should have and moved towards her, but Stefan got behind him and shot him with the stake. It didn't hurt him so Stefan lunged at him. They fell down the stairs, and Elijah got up immediately. That's when Damon jumped in, using the broken coat hanger as a stake. He impaled Elijah on the door, pinning him as he shriveled up.

Evanna got up and hurried down the steps,"Nice job."

Damon shrugged,"I've done better."

Rose appeared, saw Elijah and rushed off.

Damon went to follow her, but Evanna set a hand on his chest,"Let her go."

Damon smiled down at her, a warm smile that she returned. Evanna moved over to Stefan who was still on the ground, and held out her hand to help him up.

"Very impressive with the whole tackle him down the stairs thing."

Stefan chuckled,"Thanks. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Nah. Few bumps and bruises but nothing that sleep can't heal. The most important thing is; I didn't get any blood on the dress."

Stefan and Damon shared a look and quipped in unison before following her out.

"Women..."

* * *

Evanna walked into her house, climbing the stairs slowly.

She met Jeremy, Elena and Sheila at the top, and almost fell back when Elena threw her arms around her and cried.

Evanna laughed tiredly, squeezing her tightly,"Elena, I'm okay."

"I was so worried."

Evanna turned to her Grams,"I got your message. They didn't hurt me."

Elena let go of her and wiped her eyes, letting Sheila get her hug.

When Sheila pulled back, Jeremy let the 'tough guy' act slip as he enveloped Evanna in a bear hug.

He kissed her head as she laughed,"Jer, I'm perfectly fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Sleep and a hot shower will fix me up."

* * *

Evanna tied her now dried hair into a high ponytail, letting two curly strands of hair fall down the sides of her face.

The plaid shorts and black tank top were a welcome difference from the dress, which now hung on the radiator drying. She walked back into her room, turning the light off in her bathroom as she went.

"Cute pjs."

Evanna glanced up to see Damon sitting on her window seat, and snorted,"I aim to please. What are you doing here?"

"I brought you this." He said, holding up her necklace.

"My necklace. I thought it was gone. Thank you." Evanna tried to take it when he stopped in front of her,"Damon..."

"I just have to say something."

Evanna tensed,"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?"

"Well, because what I'm about to say is… probably the most selfish thing I have ever said in my life."

"Damon, I don't -"

"No, I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it. I love you, Evanna and it's because I love you that… I can't be selfish with you. Why you can't know this. I don't deserve you."

Damon leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently, before pulling back and staring into her eyes,"God, I wish you didn't have to forget this; but you do."

Evanna frowned, watching the tear slip from his eye. Forget?

Suddenly, it felt as though her eyelids were being pulled down by weights, and she gave in, letting them flutter closed.

When Evanna opened her eyes again, she furrowed her eyebrows.

Her head was foggy, her stomach was twirling and her body tingled with something foreign.

Her window was open, she wasn't in her bathroom and her necklace was back around her neck.

Evanna shut the window, slowly lowering her aching body to sit on the window seat.

What had just happened?


	9. Chapter 9

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**There could be another one or two chapters up today (hopefully), so, yay! **

**Question; Is it a good thing or a bad thing when someone tells you, based on your physical appearance and general snarky attitude, that you remind that person of Katherine? Because I get that alot, and I never know how to take it.**

* * *

Evanna's sleep was dreamless that night.

She had missed school the day before and spent the entire day catching up.

It was an attempt to take her mind off what they'd learned about the curse, and what the _electi _had to do with her.

Sunday was spent with Elena, Caroline and Meredith - a girls day out in a way. They went shopping and had lunch and pretended as though their lives were completely regular.

Evanna was woken earlier on Monday morning by her mobile ringing. She reached out and felt around her nightstand for her phone, only peeking at the caller ID when it was in front of her face.

"Stefan?"

"Hey, I know it's early. Can you swing by before school? We need to talk."

* * *

Damon opened the door for her,"Morning."

"Hey, where's Stefan? He said it was important."

"Right this way."

Stefan greeted her on the second step into the living room,"Hey."

"Hi. What's this about?"

Evanna then happened to see who else was in the room with them. Rose smiled at her nervously.

"You."

"Hello, Evanna."

Evanna turned to Stefan,"It's okay that I am _totally_ confused, right?"

"We should sit down."

* * *

"Okay," Rose began,"You have to understand that I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap but Klaus, I know he's real."

"Who is he?"

"One of the originals." Damon explained,"He's a legend."

"From the first generation of vampires." Elaborated Stefan, who was sat beside her.

Rose stood in front of the fire place as Damon leaned against the bar.

Evanna furrowed her brows,"Like Elijah?"

"No. Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal." Rose informed her, and Stefan motioned with his hands,"Klaus is known to be the oldest."

"So, you're saying that the _oldest _vampire in the history of time is coming after _me_?"

"Yes." Rose answered simply.

Stefan shook his head,"No."

"Gee, can you guys vague that up for me?"

Damon snorted,"What they're saying is, I mean if what Rose is saying is true…"

"Which it is."

"And she's not just saying it so I don't kill her..."

"Which I'm not."

"Then we're looking at a solid _maybe_."

"But why?" Evanna questioned,"I mean, how did Klaus find out about the whole electi thing?"

"Through the generations, the story died out of ... you. It became a myth. Klaus never thought it was a myth. He has spent all these years looking for you, waiting, and now that word has gotten out that you _are _real, he's not going to give up until he finds you. And, trust me, there are going to be a lot of vampires coming in the next while. Some are loyal to Klaus, some figure that a debt would be repaid if they handed you over..."

"Look, Elijah's dead, right? So no one else even knows that you exist." Stefan consoled her.

"Not that you know of." Rose shook her head.

Damon rolled his eyes,"Not helping."

"Look, I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story." Stefan continued.

Rose sighed to herself.

"He's real and he doesn't give up. If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus, then you're an idiot."

Damon stepped up,"Alright, we're shaking. You made your point."

Evanna looked at all three of them before slipping her bag back over her shoulder and standing up.

Stefan frowned,"Where are you going?"

"To school. I'm going to be late. Don't look at me like that, guys; if I skipped out on school every time something bad happened in this town, I would never get an education. Now, Stefan, you comin' or not?"

Stefan and Damon shared a look before Stefan hopped up,"I'll just get my stuff."

"I'll be in the car."

When Evanna was out of the house, Damon shrugged and tipped his drink back,"She's in denial."

Stefan glared at his brother,"Shut up, Damon."

* * *

Evanna parked her car in her usual spot and that's when Stefan spoke.

"Evanna, if you wanna talk..."

"There's nothing to talk about, Stefan. You were right. We don't know if this guy is real. When we find out for sure, then I'll worry. Just ... can you tell the rest of our friends? They should know, but... I can't face them."

Stefan nodded with a small, comforting smile,"Sure. You sure you'll be okay?"

"Relax, big brother." Evanna grinned, elbowing him in the side jokingly,"God, you and Noel are so alike."

"How so?"

"Overprotective."

"You're one to talk."

"Shut up."

* * *

Evanna pulled Caroline away from the group when they all joined up.

"Where were you?"

"Stefan will explain. I need you to do me a favor."

"What do you need?"

"Can you keep Elena and Stefan busy today?"

"Why?"

"I want to go talk to Katherine."

"Oh, so you've gone crazy."

"Care, please. I _really _need to talk to her. Tell everyone I wasn't feeling well and I went home from school."

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. I'm a terrible liar. Why can't I tell Elena or Stefan, again?"

"Because I don't want them to know what I'm up to. Actually, keep Meredith and Jeremy out of the loop, too."

"I'm even worse at duplicity and you know this."

"You managed to keep Elena occupied when Katherine paid Stefan a visit."

"Yeah, because she threatened me. Not that I'm saying that you should use that as a tactic, it's…" The blonde sighed,"They're gonna see right through me."

"Caroline, promise me, as my friend, you'll do this?"

"You had to break out the girlfriend code. Fine, I promise."

"Thank you."

"Why _don't _you want them to know?"

"Because they'd never be okay with me doing this."

* * *

On the way back to her car, Evanna ran into Jeremy.

"There you are! Where'd you run off to this morning?"

"Salvatore's. Ask Stefan."

"Okay. Are you all right, you seem kinda... anxious?"

"No, I'm just feeling a little sick."

"Go home."

"That's where I'm going, Jer." Evanna laughed,"I'll see you-"

"Um, excuse me?"

Evanna and Jeremy turned to look at the teenage boy standing beside them,"Do you guys know which way is the office?"

Jeremy smiled,"Yeah, yeah. Through the double doors then straight ahead, quick left and then your first right. You must be new here."

"Yeah, I am. It's kind of hard to hide it. My name's Luka."

"Jeremy, and this is my cousin Evanna."

"Hi, Evanna."

Evanna smiled politely and nodded her head at him. He peered at her curiously, and she recognized something in his energy. He was a witch.

Jeremy looked between them,"Anyway, Luka. I'm actually heading in that direction. Why you don't follow me? It can get confusing."

"Thanks, man. It was nice to meet you, Evanna."

Before he left, Jeremy hugged his cousin,"Feel better, alright?"

"Yeah. Bye, Jer."

* * *

Evanna stepped into the tomb, standing outside of the barrier,"Katherine?"

She waited, and in a split second, Katherine was at the edge of the tomb, looking worse than worse for wear.

"Hello, Evanna. You come to watch me wither away?"

"Katherine, if I was coming to do that, I'd have brought popcorn." Evanna kicked the gravelly sand beneath her boots,"Or at least a lawn chair."

"Damon know you're here?"

"I brought you some things." Evanna said, motioning to the bag in her hand.

"You came to bribe me? What is it that you want?"

"I want you to tell me about Klaus."

"Hmm, you've been busy."

Evanna pulled the _Petrova _family book out of her bag,"I also brought you this. It's your family history. It says in here that the family line ended with you. Obviously that's not true."

"You think that if you brought me some family keepsake that I'd open up?"

Evanna had expected this, so she pulled out the only thing she knew would have Katherine talking.

Blood.

Katherine sped towards the barrier, the smell of it driving her crazy.

Evanna poured some of the blood into a cup and held it up as if inspecting it,"You don't look so good. How long before your body shuts down? 10, 20 years? It must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can't even imagine."

Katherine visibly gave up and sat on the ground. Evanna copied her, and pushed the cup towards her, passed the barrier, with a stick. Katherine took it and gulped it down, some of the color returning to her skin.

"You have the Bennett fire."

"More blood?"

Katherine returned the cup and Evanna refilled it, handing it back.

"It's a long story; Klaus and I. It goes all the way back to England, 1492, after I left Bulgaria or ... was thrown out."

"Thrown out?"

"My family, Elena's true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. I had a baby out of wedlock. The shame."

"It was kept secret?"

"Mmhmm, my baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust, so I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a noble man name Klaus. I was taken with him at first until I found out what he was, and what he wanted from me, and then I ran like hell."

"So, what _did _Klaus want?"

"To break the curse. You need a human to do so. He thought he'd found you. His math was a little off."

"A human?"

"Mmhmm. A witch, a werewolf and a vampire. All these people would have to be close to the _electi_. So, that would mean Sheila, Tyler and Caroline? They are the closest to you."

"If Klaus finds me, he'll kill them?"

Katherine nodded,"Yup. I made the mistake of befriending the girl he thought was her. I found afterwards that the curse hadn't been broken, and she had been killed. Klaus is a sore loser."

* * *

Caroline sped over to Meredith, Stefan and Elena,"Hey! Where are you guys going?"

"Evanna went home sick." Meredith reminded her,"We were going to check on her. You coming?"

"I'm sure she's fine. Probably sleeping. We shouldn't disturb her."

"We're kind of worried." Elena explained,"She seemed fine last night - well, as fine as she could be."

"You know what? You're right. I just ... it can wait. We can talk later."

Stefan crossed his arms,"Talk about what?"

"I might have done something."

"What did you do?"

"Told Tyler I was a vampire."

"What?!"

_Oh, Evanna, you so owe me for this._

* * *

"What does the Bennett blood line have to do with breaking the curse?"

"Your ancestor, Edward, was very distrusting of everyone but his own family. His specialty was the visions he received. In one particular vision, that he had on his death bed, he saw you. Family members wrote it down; a teenage girl, the most powerful of the line, who's blood could break the curse of the sun and the moon." Katherine played with the plastic cup, leaning her head back,"The secret of the _electi _was supposed to be kept within the family, but another of your ancestors began to boast about being from the special line of witches. He boasted in the wrong place."

"Where?"

"A bar full of vampires."

"And what happened to him?"

"The family found out, and saw it as a betrayal. He was burned at the stake."

"By his own family?"

"All of our ancestors have secrets, Evanna. Different times, different manners of dealing with things. Well, except Klaus, his manner was simple. Death."

"So, you ran before he could kill you."

"Something like that."

* * *

"Trevor was in love with you?" Evanna questioned only five minutes later.

Katherine nodded, knocking back another shot of blood.

"Rose never ended up bringing you back to Klaus, did she?"

"No, but not because she had a change of heart. I tried to kill myself. Rose smelled the blood and gave me some of her own. After that, I hung myself."

"You turned _yourself _?"

"In a way. Klaus needed a human. I thought, as a vampire, I was no longer any use to him."

"But it didn't work. You didn't really escape, you've been running from Klaus ever since."

"I underestimated his peered for vengeance but living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock."

Evanna shifted uncomfortably, an action that didn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong? Afraid I'm right? You don't want to die? There's another way out." Katherine cut her wrist with her nail, watching the blood drip down. She offered it to Evanna,"Better hurry. Your opportunity is going, going, going and gone."

Evanna stared at Katherine's now healed wrist as the vampire shrugged.

"I made the other choice."

"Rose and Trevor spent the last 500 years running because you used them. Trevor just got killed." Evanna told her.

"I never thought he would have lasted that long."

"You don't even care that you ruined their lives."

"I was looking out for myself, Evanna. I will always look out for myself. If you're smart, you'll do the same."

Katherine turned around and opened the book of her family.

* * *

"Sorry to drag you guys here but if I don't eat, I get those kill innocent people urges. Tyler totally has those too by the way."

Stefan frowned,"Yeah, what else did you tell him?"

He, Meredith and Elena eagerly waited for the answer as the blonde ate,"Not much. I was trying to keep the questions to a minimum. Are you mad?"

"Yes, Caroline." Stefan nodded,"As a matter of fact, I am a little mad. I mean, you put yourself a risk. If Damon finds out…"

"You're not gonna tell him right?"

"No, of course not." Elena said.

Meredith folded her arms on the table,"He would kill you."

Caroline smiled,"Always looking out for me."

"Yeah. Well, you don't exactly make it very easy on us." Stefan teased.

"Well, anyway, what do we do about Tyler? I don't want Damon to kill him 'cause there's a full moon coming up and Tyler is totally freaking out about it."

After another little while, Stefan cleared his throat inconspicuously, garnering Elena and Meredith's attentions.

"Well, we should probably go check on Evanna." Meredith said pointedly, standing up.

Elena and Stefan nodded, following.

"No! Wait!" Caroline fumbled for an excuse to make them stay.

All three of them dropped back into their chairs as Stefan leaned forward,"Caroline, you have two seconds to come clean."

"What do you mean?"

"We'd believe the whole innocent act a little bit better if we didn't know how good you were at providing a distraction on demand. Where is Evanna?" Meredith asked.

Caroline sighed, slumping back in the chair.

"I can't tell you." She whined, pouting.

"You can't tell us? Are you kidding me?" Elena questioned, making Caroline's pout deepen.

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

Stefan clasped his hands and spoke slowly,"Caroline! Evanna was kidnapped, she could have been killed and you're seriously not gonna tell me where she is?"

"She's not in any danger. I wouldn't have let her go otherwise."

"Go? Go where...?" Meredith repeated,"Wait, is she with Damon?"

"Ew, no. She swore me to secrecy. She used the girlfriend card. All that I know is, after what we found about her, she needs this."

* * *

"So, how much of your little story is true?"

"I have no reason to lie, Evanna. I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot."

"Okay, assuming it's even partially true, that's the reason why you came back, isn't it? Because you wanted to be the one to hand me over to Klaus."

"500 years on the run, I figured maybe he'd be willing to strike a deal."

"So you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone."

"Right again."

"So, let's recap," Evanna paced back and forth,"To break the curse, Klaus needs the moonstone, Grams, Tyler, Caroline, and -"

"And most importantly, you."

"So you were gonna just hand us all over to be killed?"

Katherine shrugged, walking further back into the tomb,"Better you die, than I."

* * *

Damon handed some blood to Rose, who's face was still slightly burned.

They had just gotten home from Richmond, where they had been talking to Slater, one of Rose's old friends. Something, or _someone, _had broken the UV resistant windows, sending the vampires inside running for cover. Damon had been fine, because he had his ring, but Rose...

"I'm sorry we couldn't get all the answers on Klaus." Rose apologized, sipping the blood.

Damon shrugged,"Someone broke a window and tried to kill us. It happens."

"I don't know where Slater is now. Where are we supposed to find our answers?"

"I think I know someone who might help."

* * *

Evanna froze when she heard someone walk into the tomb.

Katherine smirked, leaning against the wall, fully prepared to watch what was seconds away from happening.

"Evanna?!"

"Damon, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Caroline told you?"

"Caroline knew?!"

Evanna bit her lip,"No...?"

"Relax, Damon. Your girlfriend and I were just having a little talk. Girl chat. Hello again, Rose."

"Katherine. I'd feel bad that you're stuck in the tomb but..."

"Listen, whatever she told you is a lie," Damon said to Evanna,"Do not listen to her. She's a liar, Evanna."

"What if she isn't? You didn't hear anything she said."

"You don't have to worry, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"That's the problem, you won't but you'll die trying. How's that any better?"

Katherine crossed her arms,"There's nothing you can do, Damon. I haven't even told you the best part of the story."

* * *

"He killed them, my entire family, just to get back at me for running." Katherine continued looking at Evanna, an eyebrow raised and her expression serious,"Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance on your friends, your family and _anyone_ that you've _ever_ loved."

Damon rolled his eyes and turned to look at Evanna.

By her face, he knew that it was bugging her, filling her mind with horrific images,"No, look at me. No, do not listen to her, okay?"

"Protect her all you want, Damon, but even you must realize that she's doomed. There's nothing you can do to stop it - unless of course you have this." Katherine said, holding up the moonstone.

Evanna frowned,"What?"

"Oh no, there it is. It's the ultimate lie, isn't it? You spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you, didn't you?"

"I didn't spin anything, Damon. It's the truth."

"No, let me guess. You want to trade that stone for your freedom because you're a psychotic bitch."

"My freedom? That's where you're wrong, Damon. I don't want my freedom because when Klaus shows up to kill us all and he will, I'll be in the tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town."

Katherine nodded at Evanna, the message in her eyes clear; _you know I'm telling the truth._

Katherine looked at Damon then, and walked back into the tomb. Damon and Evanna looked at each other, before Evanna turned to Rose, noticing her burns.

"What happened to you?"

"Rose will explain in the car. C'mon."

* * *

Damon dropped Rose back at the boarding house, where she turned around,"Damon, go easy on her. Evanna needed those answers, as horrible as they may be."

Damon sighed and looked back at his car, where Evanna was leaning her head against the passenger seat window, lost in her thoughts.

"I'm not going to yell at her. I didn't plan to. Tell Stefan I'll be back in a while."

* * *

When Damon pulled up outside her house, Evanna stirred, grabbing her bag and attempting to open the door.

"Thanks for the ride, Da -" She paused, tugging on the door handle,"Unlock the door, Damon."

"Nope."

Evanna sighed, slumping back in her seat,"Fine."

She rooted through her purse for her iPod, and stuck the earphones in her ears, zoning him out,"Bring on the lecture."

Damon rolled his eyes, reaching over and taking the iPod from her. She pouted.

"Hey!"

"There is no lecture. There is no yelling, no rant - not even a stern gaze."

"Then why am I still here?"

"To talk. That's what friends do, Evanna, they talk."

"I don't want to talk."

A gentle smirk appeared on Damon's face,"You never want to talk."

"Glad you know that. Can I go now?"

"No."

"Damon!"

He just stared at her. She clenched her jaw.

"What do you want me to do? Scream, cry, break something?"

"No, never, and preferably not. I want you to be honest with yourself; you're scared, you're upset and I'm not gonna leave you alone right now. Not when you're like this."

"Okay, fine! Just, can we at least go inside? Nobody's home, and being out in the open like this right now makes me really paranoid."

Damon relented, unlocking her door so she could get out. He followed her into the empty house and she switched on the light, turning to find him waiting patiently.

Shuffling awkwardly, Evanna took a deep, soothing breath and began her admission.

"I wanted to know the truth and I got it, okay? It's not just me that's in danger. It's Caroline, and it's Tyler and it's Grams. They're all part of breaking the curse, and there's nothing I can do about it. Katherine's entire family was _slaughtered, _this Klaus guy is hunting her down because she became _friends _with the girl he believed to be me, so imagine what could happen to my loved ones? Everyone that I love is in danger, and it's because of me."

Evanna felt the prickling behind her nose, and her brown eyes glistened.

"It's all because of me."

Damon stepped forward, wrapping her body in his embrace, and pressing his lips to her warm forehead. The tears came, rolling down her cheeks and disappearing into the fabric of his shirt.

Evanna had just began to relax in his arms, her tears subsiding when the sound of a key turning in the door made the two jump apart.

Alaric appeared at the doorway as Evanna reached up to wipe the remaining tears away quickly.

The history teacher looked between them, closing the door slowly behind himself.

"Oh, no, what happened?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Evanna went to school the next day, and threw herself into her work.

She paid attention to the teacher, and didn't look up when she wrote in her notebook. She could feel her friends staring at her with their concerned faces, but she wouldn't be able to look at them. If she did, she'd return to the distraught girl in the hallway from last night.

She needed a plan.

She went home, did her homework and then accepted the invite out that Matt had provided her. Out of all her close friends, he was the only one who didn't know anything about the current situation. Lucky him.

They went to the Grill, played pool and ran into Luka and his father. Luka's father, Jonas Martin, had been quick to mention her ancestors from Salem, but Luka apologised for his abruptness, explaining that they were warlocks, and Jonas was just protecting them.

Evanna had came home late, thanking Matt for the day out and climbing into bed.

It was about 2 AM when she woke up with a start.

Someone was moving in the house, but everyone else should be asleep. The Klaus thing had made her extremely paranoid.

Evanna pushed the covers off her body and exited her bedroom, her eyes scanning the entire hallway for anything.

She turned back towards her bedroom, and that's when she heard someone stop on the landing. Evanna flew around, heart racing, only to realize it was Alaric.

"Evanna."

Evanna realized he was in his very small boxers and fumbled,"I heard a noise."

Jenna appeared then, looking very uncomfortable,"That was us. I'm sorry."

"We didn't think anyone was up." Alaric flushed,"We were just..." He trailed off then.

Evanna wasn't a kid, she knew what was going on.

He held up the bowl of ice cream to her,"Chunky Monkey?"

Evanna shook her head and he bit the inside of his cheek,"I'm practically naked so ... I'm gonna go."

"I'm really, really sorry." Jenna grimaced sheepishly as soon as her bedroom door had closed.

"Jen, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

"I know he's been staying over a lot. Are you sure it's okay?"

"Seems like things are good."

"They are extremely good."

"Then I'm extremely okay with that."

Evanna returned to her bed and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

Unbeknownst to her, Jonas came out of her bathroom, and went to her vanity table. He picked up her small hairbrush and slipped it into his pocket. He took a picture from the mirror down, one of her and Elena that had been taken the year before. He folded it and exited the house. He had gotten what he needed.

* * *

The next time Evanna woke up, it was morning.

Evanna dressed and headed into the kitchen. She paused in the doorway, spotting Damon and Stefan there talking to Elena and Jeremy.

"Hey, can we talk?" Stefan asked, seeing her first.

"About what?"

"We went to see Katherine." Damon told her, throwing an orange in the air and catching it again.

"Okay... and?"

Stefan explained that Katherine promised to give them the moonstone, if they set her free. When she _was _free, she'd disappear from Mystic Falls forever.

"And you believe her?" Evanna asked, dumbfounded.

Damon shook his head,"No, of course not. We just want the moonstone."

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break." Stefan informed her, leaning against the counter beside Elena.

"No spell, no _electi_ sacrifice, ergo you live." Damon grinned as if everything was solved.

"How do you destroy it?"

"By releasing it from the moonstone."

"How do you guys even know this is gonna work?"

"We have your Grams on our side."

"You discussed this with Grams?"

"She agreed to do anything she could to help us." Stefan replied.

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone. She's not gonna give it to you." Evanna lowered her voice, glancing back towards the kitchen.

Stefan nodded,"We're gonna get it from her."

"Well, what he means to say is we will pry it from her cold dead hand if we have to."

"Sheila said she knew a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone and get out in time for her to return it."

Evanna crossed her arms,"Wow, seems like you two have it all figured it out."

"Yep." Damon smirked,"We're awesome."

"Except for one thing; I don't want you to do it."

Stefan frowned,"What are you talking about? Evanna, we don't have a choice."

"What about Klaus?"

"We'll find him right after we get the moonstone."

"Is that before or after he kills everyone I care about, including the four of you?"

Evanna's eyes stayed on Damon for a few seconds, wondering why he looked so stunned. Stefan's voice drew her back to the conversation.

"Evanna, if we can dispell the moonstone, we can save your life."

"I know." She sighed, grabbing her car keys off the table,"Everyone keeps saying that."

* * *

Evanna opened the door to the Salvatore's house.

She'd be late for school but then again, school wasn't in the itinerary for the day.

"Damon, is that you?" Rose called, appearing at the doorway,"Oh, Evanna. Don't you have school?"

"Technically. It's important."

"Oh, well, no one else is home."

"I know. I was looking for you."

* * *

"It's a bad idea."

Evanna sighed,"No, it's not. From what Stefan told me, your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it."

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it."

"There's more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it."

"Why are you coming to me with this?"

"Because you owe me. I saved you from Damon that night. He would've tracked you down, and next thing you know, you're running from _him _instead."

"Or maybe it's because you know that he wouldn't want you doing this. And that moonstone caper gives you a chance to sneak away."

"We're having a disagreement, okay? He's willing to risk everyone that I love and I'm not."

"He's trying to protect you."

"And you've proven that you couldn't care less whether I'm protected or not so we're back to you taking me to Slater."

"What exactly do you hope to achieve by this?"

"How would you like to be able to walk during the daylight?"

"I've been a slave to shadows for 500 years, what do you think?"

"I gave Caroline her ring. I can easily give you one too _if _you do this for me."

"Fine. Let's go."

* * *

An hour later and they were walking up the steps of an apartment building.

Rose stopped outside a door and began knocking,"Slater? Slater, it's Rose. Open up! He's not home. Sorry."

Evanna shook her head,"Uh-uh, no way. We didn't come all this way for nothing."

Rose sighed and pulled open the front door with her strength,"After you..."

Evanna let her eyes roam over Slater's apartment.

Rose walked by her and called into the seemingly empty apartment,"Slater?"

The spiky-haired vampire stopped up ahead, her entire demeanor changing,"I don't think Slater will be much help."

"Why?" Evanna sped up and stopped beside the taller woman.

She stared at Slater's body in defeat and headed towards the computers and pages on the desks in front of her,"Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information."

"Yeah, probably to stop him from helping people like us. The guy was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just bit him in the ass."

Evanna watched Rose advance towards the window and pull open the curtains with a frown.

"What are you -?"

"Tempered glass, UV rays can't penetrate."

Evanna picked up a picture of Slater and a girl as Rose continued,"I used to just come here and watch the day."

Evanna became sympathetic towards Rose then, but knew Rose probably didn't want sympathy. Instead, Evanna held up the picture in her hands,"I'm sorry about Slater."

Rose turned around and took the picture, smiling at it. She looked back at Evanna,"Any luck?"

Evanna glanced at the computers again,"They're all password protected. I can't get in."

"Then this is pointless," Rose said,"Let's just go."

Evanna contemplated giving up, but a noise stopped the both of them.

"Stay here." Rose instructed Evanna before walking back towards the door.

She turned towards a bedroom,"Alice?"

"Rose!"

The girl from the picture ran out of the room and threw her arms around Rose, crying into her shoulder.

Evanna simply watched on.

* * *

Rose walked back out of the bedroom and rejoined Evanna by the computers,"She found him a few minutes before we did."

"How is she?"

"Overreacting. Big time."

"Her boyfriend just died. There's no such thing as overreacting."

"Those tears are for her. She didn't care about Slater. She was only dating him long enough to see if he'd turn her."

Evanna looked up when Alice re-entered the room.

She gave her a cup of tea which made the dark-haired girl smile,"Thank you. You look really familiar. Did you know Slater?"

"Not personally, no." Rose answered for her, before giving Evanna a pointed look and nodding her head back.

Evanna followed the train of sight and noticed the folders on a shelf. Slater had been researching the electi, like many others apparently.

Evanna turned back to Alice,"I do know that he kept detailed records of all of his vampire's contacts and I was hoping that he could point me towards Klaus."

"Doubtful. Klaus doesn't want to be pointed at."

"Do you know Slater's computer password?"

"Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart."

"I understand that. Do you know his password?"

"Who do you think you are?"

Evanna sighed and leaned closer to Alice,"What if I could convince Rose to turn you? Will you show us his files then?"

* * *

Alice typed away on the keyboard as Rose took Evanna aside,"You know that she's not getting anywhere near my blood, right?"

"I know." Evanna looked back at Alice,"She doesn't."

"Someone's been here. The hard drive is completely wiped out."

"Yeah, probably whoever killed him." Rose told Alice, as the two of them walked back to the computers.

"Lucky for you, Slater was paranoid. Everything's backed up on a mode server." Alice said, bringing up another file - another password protected file. Alice rolled her eyes and filled in the tiny box,"_Kristen Stewart_... God, can you be so obvious?"

Evanna stared at the long lists on the screen,"Are these all leads to vampires?"

"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me."

"What about that one: Cody Weber? They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah."

Alice glanced at Rose and shrugged,"I could call him."

Evanna stared at the phone on the wall,"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus: the _electi_ is alive and she's ready to surrender."

Rose's head snapped around,"What?!"

"Oh my God! I knew I recognized you!" Alice explained.

Evanna took a deep breath before walking into Slater's kitchen,"Just get him the message."

Rose followed her inside,"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting Klaus's attention."

"If Klaus knows that you're alive, he'll find you and he'll kill you."

Evanna's determined expression never wavered as the realization dawned on Rose,"Which is exactly what you wanted all along."

"It's either me or my family."

"So this whole charade is some suicide mission so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else?"

Evanna didn't get to answer as Alice ran into the room,"Cody is on his way and he really wants to meet you."

* * *

Night had fallen, and Evanna was getting paranoid.

She'd thought she'd seen Elijah's face in the window, staring right at her, but when she'd turned around, nobody had been there.

Rose had gone off somewhere with her phone, and Alice was somewhere getting dolled up. Evanna took a sip from her glass of water and spotted Alice staring at her. Except... Alice wasn't staring at _her_, she was staring at something behind her.

Evanna turned around and narrowly avoided jumping out of her skin,"Damon?!"

"What are you doing here?" He asked, making her repeat it.

"What are _you _doing here?" Evanna stopped and turned back around slowly.

Rose had her phone for a reason, and she was now standing at the doorway.

"You called him?"

"I'm sorry, Evanna."

"You said that you understood."

Damon scoffed,"She lied."

Alice's mouth formed an 'O',"Damon Salvatore?!"

Damon looked to Rose,"Get rid of her."

"No way!" Alice exclaimed excitedly as Rose dragged her away.

"Come on, we're leaving." Damon told her, prompting Evanna to narrow her eyes,"No."

"I said we're leaving."

"I'm not going with you."

"Yeah, you don't get to make decisions anymore."

"When have I ever gotten to make a decision? You and Stefan do that for me now. This? This is my decision."

"Who's gonna save your life when you're out making these decisions?"

"You're not listening to me, Damon. I don't want to be saved. Not if it means that Klaus is gonna kill every single person that I love."

"Get your ass out the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself."

"Try it and see what happens."

Damon rolled his eyes, and tried a different approach.

He tucked her hair behind her ears and cupped her face,"You can't do this, you can't throw your life away."

Evanna reached up and took his hands from her face, squeezing his hands in hers.

"I'm not throwing it away. I'm doing something. This is the only way to protect the people I love, Damon."

Damon sighed heavily, and was about to speak when the door flew open. Damon turned and placed himself in front of Evanna as Cody spoke.

"We're here for the Electi."

"Thank you for coming." Evanna said, moving to bypass Damon.

He caught her arm and whispered back to her,"_Don't _even try it." Damon glanced at Cody and his two friends,"There's nothing here for you."

Rose, Evanna and Damon watched as the third man gasped and fell to the ground, shriveling up.

Elijah appeared, holding the vampire's heart in his hand.

Rose took a sharp intake of breath and fled the apartment.

Damon frowned at Elijah,"I killed you. You were dead."

"For centuries now." Elijah replied, turning to Cody,"Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?"

"I'm Elijah."

"We were gonna bring her to you for Klaus. She's the electi. I don't know how she exists but she does. Klaus would want to see her."

Elijah tilted his head at Cody and pursed his lips,"Does anyone else know you're here?"

"No."

"Well then, you've been incredibly helpful." Elijah smiled, before reaching through Cody and the other vampire's chest, pulling their hearts out and dropping them on the floor.

Elijah looked back at them, nodded and left. Damon turned back and glanced oddly at Evanna. She just shrugged back.

They'd stepped into bizzaro land.

* * *

The car ride home had been filled with tense silence.

"Thank you for bringing me home." Evanna said shortly, walking up the porch steps.

Damon shrugged, following her up the porch steps,"Well, your ride left you. I didn't want to leave you stranded."

"She was just scared. She didn't mean to run."

"Yes, she did. She's been running for 500 years."

"I can't believe Elijah is alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires and just let us go?"

"If I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprised me…"

Evanna sighed and moved towards the front door.

Damon caught her wrist for the second time that night and made her turn back to look at him,"What you did today was incredibly stupid."

"Actually the only thing that was stupid was that I got caught."

"You really think leading yourself to the slaughter is what's gonna help everyone. You _seriously _underestimate how much certain people care about you."

"Damon, I'm not going to apologize. I'd do it again."

Damon growled,"Damn it, Evanna! That's what scares me. I always knew you had a reckless side, but what astounds me is how someone so smart can be so _stupid_."

Jeremy opened the front door, interrupting them.

"What?" Damon asked sharply.

Evanna frowned, noticing the blood stain on his collar, and the bandage on his neck.

"Jeremy, what's wrong?"

"It's Stefan."


	11. Chapter 11

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So, this one is pretty short and crappy. If anything, it's a filler episode, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway :)**

* * *

Evanna spent most of the next day trying to find a spell that would release Stefan from the tomb - _only _Stefan.

So far, she'd found nothing. Meredith lay across the end of her bed, turning the moonstone over in her hand as Evanna flicked the pages of the grimoire.

"Now that you've got this back, what are you gonna do with it?" Meredith asked, prompting Evanna to close the grimoire.

She'd found nothing anyway.

"Right now it's what is binding the sun and the moon curse. If I can figure out a way to remove the spell from the stone, the stone becomes useless."

"And according to Katherine, Klaus becomes vengeful."

"Maybe, if he finds out."

Jeremy walked by the door, stopped and back-tracked into view,"Hey, Meredith."

"Bonjour, Jeremy." Meredith replied in a French accent, looking at him upside down.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Moonstone stuff." Evanna answered.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Meredith said, tumbling off the bed.

Jeremy took her place on the rose printed sheets,"So, why are you on some suicide mission?"

"Jeremy, it's not like that."

"That's not how Damon paints it."

Evanna rolled her eyes,"I'm trying to prevent everyone else from getting hurt."

"Oh so, bringing Klaus the moonstone so you can get yourself killed is okay?"

"Jer... not now, alright? Come on, let's see who was at the door."

Jeremy nodded and allowed Evanna to grab his hands and pull him off her bed.

They walked downstairs and Evanna smiled at the visitor,"Grams!"

"You and I need to talk, missy."

Evanna gulped,"Yeah, can it wait? I have to go do something ... somewhere that's not anywhere near here."

Evanna headed towards the door and pulled it open. She tried to step out over the threshold but stopped. Something was keeping her from leaving.

Evanna turned around slowly to face her grandmother,"Nice way to keep me from avoiding a conversation, Grams."

"It's for the best, Evanna."

* * *

She was pouting, she knew that.

Evanna was seated on the couch, arms crossed and face sour.

Sheila was sitting in the armchair across from her, while Jeremy got a drink in the kitchen. Meredith had left to go pick up Elena; they weren't letting her stay in the tomb all day with Stefan, that wasn't healthy.

"Cheer up, Ava." Jeremy quipped from the counter.

"I'm on house arrest, and Grams hid my grimoire so I can't break the spell, I'm cranky."

Jeremy chuckled, and glanced down the hallway as the front door opened.

"You should really lock your door," Damon said, entering the room.

Evanna's pout dropped and she glared at him.

"Oh, come on pouty. Just give me two points for ingenuity."

"You think this is funny?"

"Yes, Evanna, I find hilarity in the lengths that I have to go to repeatedly save your life."

"What does Stefan say about this?"

"We had a good laugh."

"And what did he say about Elijah still being alive?"

Damon shrugged and sat down beside her, throwing his arm around the back of the couch,"Yeah... that I didn't tell him about."

"Why not?" Sheila questioned him.

"Well _A_: he can't do anything about it; and _B _: ... what I just said." Damon looked behind himself at Jeremy,"Where's Elena and Meredith?"

"Thought they were meeting you." The sixteen year old replied, making Damon sigh.

"No, they're on moonstone duty and I'm on Evanna patrol."

Jeremy furrowed his eyebrows,"And who's on Tyler Lockwood and the full moon?"

"Vampire Barbie asked me if she can handle it and why not? Figured if she screwed up he'll bite her and then I'll be rid of two of my problems."

Evanna's brown eyes widened,"Hold on; tonight's a full moon?"

Damon's phone began ringing, and he pulled it out of his jacket pocket while answering Evanna,"Yep. What is it, Alaric?"

"Sheriff Forbes has officially declared Mason Lockwood a missing person." Alaric told him.

"What? Why?"

"Some girl from Florida showed up on the Lockwood's door step looking for Mason."

"What girl?"

"I don't know, but she's got everyone in a tizzy."

"That's not good. Where are you?"

"I'm at the Grill."

"_I'm _on my way." Damon said, and hung up.

He stood up as Jeremy walked over and pointed at the youngest Gilbert.

"Change of plans. You babysit."

Jeremy nodded and fell back on the couch, laying his head on the pillow Evanna had had on her lap.

"Hey, you know," Damon said, turning back as he walked out,"You should get out, enjoy the sun. Oh wait, you can't."

Jeremy chuckled, and even Sheila smiled, as Evanna pulled the pillow out from under Jeremy and threw it at Damon.

Damon dodged it and smirked,"Seriously, work on your aim."

Evanna scoffed, and pushed Jeremy onto the floor, crossing her legs and arms with a satisfied purse of the lips.

* * *

Evanna had spent the rest of the day upstairs on her laptop.

She skyped with friends from Richmond, her family members and even Luka, someone she hadn't talked to in a while.

He seemed nice enough, but his father gave her the creeps.

Finally, she logged off and headed downstairs when she heard Jenna come home. Evanna held onto the banister of the stairs and swung around on it, peering at Jenna. The closet under the stairs was wide open, and the strawberry blonde was rummaging through it.

Evanna stepped off the stairs,"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Perfect timing, Ava." Jenna grinned, handing her a box full of what seemed like junk.

"What is all this stuff?"

"Miranda's files from the historical society. I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood and by roped, I mean very excited to participate."

Evanna laughed, staring down at the files. Jenna closed the closet door and Evanna glanced up, only to find Elijah standing there.

Evanna gasped and jumped back as he smiled at her,"Hey, I'm Elijah."

"Elijah is in town doing research on Mystic Falls."

Elijah stepped up to her and held out his hand for her to shake,"It's a pleasure."

"So, you're welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff or Evanna and I could help you load it into our car."

"Or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow."

"Also a good plan." Jenna nodded with a smile.

"Thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna and Evanna..." Elijah smiled at them.

To Jenna, it was a sweet smile, to Evanna, it was skin-crawling.

"I hope to see you again sometime soon." Elijah said to her as he left.

* * *

Evanna wasted no time in hurrying upstairs and banging down Jeremy's bedroom door.

Elijah appeared and hid behind Jeremy's door when he opened it, telling Evanna not to spill the beans.

"Woah, what's up?" Jeremy asked her worriedly.

Evanna ran a hand through her chestnut locks,"Uh, Jenna just wanted me to ask you to help her with some boxes."

Jeremy nodded and walked passed her,"Kay."

When he was downstairs, Evanna looked at Elijah.

"Wise choice." He said, as she took a deep, calming breath.

"What do you want?"

"I think it's time you and I had a little chat."

* * *

Evanna closed her bedroom door behind them as Elijah glanced around her room.

"To be honest, I expected more pink."

Evanna folded her arms as he turned back around to her and said,"Forgive the intrusion; I mean you and your family no harm."

"Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?"

"Because I didn't want you to be taken. Klaus is the most feared and hated of the originals but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the electi exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him and I can't have that."

"Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do?"

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse."

"And what _is _your goal?"

"Klaus's obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle."

"Like you?"

"Not anymore."

"You don't know where he is, don't you? So you're trying to use me to draw him out."

"Well, to do that I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed."

Evanna frowned cautiously,"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"If I wasn't being truthful, all your family would be dead and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now. Instead, I'm here and I'm preparing to offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"Do nothing. Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting and then, when the time is right, you and I should draw out Klaus together and I should make sure your friends remain unharmed."

"And then what?"

"Then I'll kill him."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. I'm a man of my word, Evanna. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"How are you gonna be able to keep everybody safe?"

"You and your grandmother possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar abilities."

"You know witches?"

"Together we can protect everybody that matters to you. So do we have a deal?"

"I need you to do one more thing for me."

"We're negotiating again?"

* * *

Evanna smiled at Stefan as he walked into the house, free from the tomb.

She nodded upstairs,"Elena's in her room."

"Evanna," He stopped her,"About the deal -"

"If you're going to berate me, do it tomorrow."

"I wasn't going to. I was going to thank you."

"Oh, then, you're welcome. Goodnight, Stefan."

"Night."

Evanna stifled a yawn and pulled open her dresser drawer.

She momentarily wondered where the moonstone was but then remembered that Meredith had taken it with her. Luka had said he could destroy the moonstone, and Meredith had gone to make sure it actually happened.

Evanna shook it off and climbed into bed, falling asleep rather quickly.


	12. Chapter 12

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

The next morning, Evanna decided to drop by the Salvatore house.

She got a lift off Elena and headed into the library where she spotted Damon and Rose.

"Rose, you're back."

"Yes, and I'm sorry about -"

"Hey, no biggie. Relax." Evanna noticed the broken glass and raised an eyebrow,"What did the window ever do to you, Damon?"

"Funny." He drawled,"We were attacked last night."

"By?"

"A werewolf." Rose answered.

"Oh, my God. Was anyone hurt?"

"It's just a little bite." Rose shook her head, and Evanna's mouth dropped open.

"Was it ... was it Tyler?"

"Nope." Damon answered,"One of Mason's friends. Woman named Jules. I didn't like her."

Rose pursed her lips and pulled down her top, trying to examine the bite. Damon moved over to her and looked at it.

"How is it?" Rose asked him.

"Definitely better. Right, Evanna?"

Evanna glanced at it and realized Damon was lying for Rose's sake.

She shook her head with a small smile,"You'll be fine."

Rose smiled back as Damon looked around,"Where's Stefan?"

"I think he and Elena left." Evanna shrugged her shoulders,"I need you to talk to him. He's got himself _and_ Elena convinced that he has to find Isobel but I think that's gonna upset Elijah."

"Oh, right, the possibly dangerous vampire that you made a deal with."

"Hm, I remember a time when you made a deal with Pearl. Remember her?"

"Touche. Anyway, no can do with the Stefan-talk, but if you could play nurse..."

"It's not necessary." Rose shook her head.

Damon downed the last of his bourbon,"It is necessary. Evanna is a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resist."

Evanna looked at Rose and gave her a 'one minute' signal before following Damon outside, and out of ear-shot,"Damon, is she going to die?"

"Probably. The wolf bite caused some kind of infection and it's getting worse."

"Like poison?"

"I don't know, Evanna, I'm not an expert."

"I'm sorry."

"Death happens. We come, we go. Sooner she dies the better. It's gloomy as hell in here."

* * *

Over the course of the day, Rose's condition began getting worse.

"I'm sorry," Rose coughed,"I'm probably ruining your day."

"Not really. It's either this or helping to prepare for the Booster Club Barbeque." Evanna smiled, making Rose chuckle.

Evanna settled her in bed and tucked her in, remembering how her mother used to do the exact same thing whenever she had been sick.

"I hate this. I'm a vampire, I haven't had a cold in five centuries."

"Just lie down."

"We don't get sick. When we die, it's fast and sudden and it's certainly not drawn out in illness."

"You're not going to die."

"Such a human thing to say." Rose watched Evanna look around, and smiled when the brunette picked up a copy of 'Gone With The Wind'.

"You've never been in Damon's room before, have you?" Rose asked with a sly smile,"Not what you expected, huh?"

"It's just a room with a bed. Maybe I expected there to be silk sheets." They both laughed, and Rose spoke next.

"You're lucky, you know. No one's ever loved me the way you're loved."

"I doubt that."

"Trevor was my best friend. Nothing more. I spent all those years on the run from Elijah. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire. Why are you so eager to give up?"

"I'm not giving anything up. Here." Evanna offered her a glass of blood.

"What do you call this whole deal with Elijah?" Rose asked her.

"I call it my best option."

"It's your easiest option. Do you really think your witch friend - the boy - destroyed the moonstone?"

"Meredith was there; she said it exploded. She wouldn't lie."

"You really are determined to die, aren't you? At least I ran, you're not even trying." Rose noted sadly, before closing her eyes,"I'm so tired."

"Then go to sleep." Evanna went to walk out, but Rose began talking in her sleep.

"No, stop, wait. Tell them to prepare the horses."

"It's okay Rose. Just get some sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up."

"Trevor, don't be so stupid. You're never going to make it there before the sun."

Suddenly, Rose sat up in pain,"Evanna, Evanna, I need more blood."

"Of course, here."

Rose downed all of the blood, only to throw it back up again.

Evanna took the glass and set it down, rubbing the coughing vampire's back,"Hey, it's okay, it's okay."

Evanna ran to the bathroom to get a washcloth but when she came back, Rose was gone.

"Rose?"

She was thrown back against the wall, and Rose was in front of her.

Evanna tried to free herself from the choke hold as Rose yelled at her,"It's all your fault, Katerina. You, Katerina, you did this."

Evanna realized she was still stuck in her flashback and said,"Rose, it's me. Rose, I'm Evanna."

"You betrayed us!"

"Wrong Gilbert to make that mistake with." Evanna wheezed,"Rose, I'm not Katherine!"

Rose let go of her and Evanna took in a large gulp of air.

"Evanna?"

"It's me."

"Oh, my God, Evanna. I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening to me; you don't even look like her. I'm sorry."

"You're gonna be alright."

"I'm losing my mind."

"It was only for a second."

"I'm sorry. Please, don't be scared of me."

"I'm not. I'm not." Evanna comforted, supporting the vampire's weight,"Come on, let's get you back into bed."

Rose allowed Evanna to drag her back to Damon's bed.

"I'm scared." The 560 year old vampire whimpered.

"You're not alone." Evanna said, perching on the edge of the bed,"I'm right here."

"Here? Where is here?"

"Damon's bedroom." Evanna answered softly.

"I want to go home."

"Tell me about it; your home?"

A small smile spread across Rose's jaw,"St. Austell, 30 kilometers south of London. With fields and trees and horses."

"Sounds beautiful."

"When you live long enough, everything disappears. So much time wasted, I just wish I wouldn't have been so afraid."

* * *

Rose slept for a while, and before long, it began to get dark.

Evanna heard rustling from Damon's bedroom and closed the linen cabinet door, heading back in.

"I brought clean sheets." She stopped short when she realized Rose wasn't in bed again.

Evanna set the sheets down and entered the library, calling Damon's cell.

"It's Evanna; I'm worried about Rose. I think you should come home." Evanna heard a noise and hung up, following it.

"Rose?" She called down, heading down to the basement.

She walked a little further and gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. Rose sat amongst the blood bags, draining as many as she could.

"Oh, my God."

"Blood." Rose gasped out,"I need blood."

Evanna saw her fall into a predatory stance and realization dawned on her.

"Rose..."

The short-haired vampire lunged at her, and Evanna turned on her heel, speeding up the steps.

Evanna skidded to a halt in the living room,"Rose! Rose, stop!"

Rose froze and Evanna was about to speak when Rose pushed her to the ground. Evanna reached up and yanked the curtain's chord, pulling it open. Rose was burned by the small amount of sun left in the sky, giving Evanna the chance to get away. She didn't want to use her powers in case she hurt Rose, so settled for running until she needed an emergency plan.

Evanna reached the front door, but Rose grabbed her. Evanna used a small amount of power to push her back against the door where her shoulder brushed painfully of the surface.

Rose screamed in pain, and Evanna winced, squeaking out a sorry before running upstairs.

She'd watched horror movies, and cursed herself for heading upstairs, but her legs kept moving anyway. Evanna ran into Stefan's room, locked the door and used her powers to move the heaviest items in front of it as she pulled open the curtains and searched for a stake.

"Evanna!" Rose called, trying to open the door,"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm back to being me. I need your help!"

* * *

Night had fallen, and the house was eerily quiet.

Evanna's curiosity got the better of her, and she began moving the objects away from the door. Slowly, she unlocked the door and walked into the hallway.

Evanna made her descent downstairs, and made it into the front hall before anything made a noise.

Evanna jumped and swung around, stake in the air.

Damon held out his hands,"Woah! It's me! Are you okay?"

He glanced around at the slight destruction.

"Where's Rose?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Damon and Evanna ran towards the Sheriff.

Liz looked at Evanna oddly, wondering why she was with Damon silently. Damon remembered he'd compelled her into forgetting everything and nodded to the side.

"Thanks for coming so quickly." Liz said quietly, as Evanna turned away from them and rolled her eyes.

"No, I was close by Liz, what happened?"

"A vampire. Luckily one of my deputies discovered the body before anyone else saw him."

"We have to secure the area then."

Liz nodded and turned to her deputies as Damon went to Evanna,"If anyone asks, you're not with me."

"Okay. I tried calling Elena and there was no answer, so I called Stefan and guess what? No answer. What are they up to?"

"My baby brother is not exactly my priority right now."

Evanna shrugged as he handed her a stake,"Take this. Come on, let's go."

* * *

Damon pulled Rose away from the teenage girl and pinned her down,"Rose, stop!"

Evanna stopped running and surveyed the two bodies before looking at Rose.

"Rose, it's me! It's Damon!"

Rose glanced back at the bodies,"Did I do this? I never meant to hurt anyone. I never wanted to hurt anyone."

"I know." Damon comforted.

Rose looked at Evanna,"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Evanna shook her head, silently telling her it was okay.

"Come on," Damon said,"Let's get you home."

"No, I don't have a home, I haven't had a home in so long." Rose was hit with another shot of pain and screamed,"Oh make it stop, please make it stop! I hate it, make it stop!"

Damon and Evanna shared a look as he pulled Rose up, carrying her. They needed to get her home...

* * *

Evanna walked into Damon's bedroom shortly after they'd gotten back.

"I'm sorry, Evanna. I don't like taking human life, I never have."

Damon turned back to her and whispered,"You shouldn't be here."

"It's the worst part about it: the hunt, the need to kill, the thirst, the pleasure it brings you afterwards. I wasn't meant to be evil. It hurts."

Evanna nodded as Damon sighed,"Stop talking about it then."

Rose smiled,"Damon's a lot like me. He wants to care but when he does he runs away from it. I'm sorry for what I've done today."

Evanna gave her a small smile of her own,"I know. It wasn't your fault."

"And you need to fight. I know that you're scared but you have to do it anyway."

Rose began coughing again, and Evanna slipped in and rubbed her back in comfort, an action that came to her instinctively.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Rose asked her.

"Us humans..." Evanna smiled, making Rose smile too.

"You can never forget it, what it's like to be human. It haunts me. It's the only thing that's kept me going. It doesn't hurt as much anymore."

Just after she said those words, Rose's body began to shudder and she screamed out.

Evanna glanced at Damon,"What do we do?"

"Go."

"Damon-"

"Just go, I've got this."

Evanna looked back at Rose, sighed, and left.

* * *

Evanna came back to an empty manor and after five minutes, the front door opened and Damon came in.

"You were supposed to leave."

"I did, and then I came back to see if you were okay." Evanna held the glass of scotch out for him and he took it.

"I appreciate the gesture, I'm just glad it's over." He said, knocking the drink back in one go.

Evanna sighed,"You know I don't believe that."

"Go home, Evanna. Get some rest. It's a whole new day tomorrow."

"Damon, I'm your friend."

"I'm well aware of that."

"And a friend usually knows when their friend is hurting."

"What do you want to hear? That I cared about Rose? That I'm upset? Well I didn't and I'm not."

"You know, you and I are actually a lot alike. Wasn't it only a few days ago where our roles were reversed. You didn't leave it alone then, and I'm not gonna leave it alone now. It's okay to be upset. It's okay to feel."

Damon turned back to face her,"I feel, Evanna, okay? And it sucks! What sucks even more is that it was supposed to be me. Jules was coming after me."

"You feel guilty."

"That would be human of me, wouldn't it, Evanna? And I'm not human. You want to talk about giving up? All you've done is given up! Go home. It's been enough doom, gloom and personal growth for one night."

"Fine, I will. But if you need anything..." Evanna said, plucking her jacket off the back of the couch.

He nodded slowly,"I know."

She stopped in front of him and embraced him. Damon's arms came up and hesitantly rested on her hips as she hugged him.

Evanna pulled away and gave him a sad, sympathetic look before leaving the house.

"Goodnight, Damon."

* * *

Evanna went home and went to bed as Damon drunk himself silly at the house.

He was laying in the middle of a road when a car screeched to a stop in front of him. The woman climbed out of her car and rushed over.

"Sir, are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm… lost."

"And you're laying in the middle of the road?"

"Not that kind of lost." He said, pulling himself into a seated position,"Metaphorically, existentially."

"Do you need help?"

Damon looked back at her,"Well, yes I do. Can you help me?"

He took a flask out of his pocket and took a swig from it.

"You're drunk..." The woman realized as Damon shrugged.

"No. Well, _yes _-a little, maybe."

The woman began to walk back to her car and Damon pouted,"No, wait, don't leave. I really do need help."

He rushed over to her and compelled her to stay in place.

"I don't want any trouble." She said, shaking with fear.

"That's the thing; neither do I. But that's all I got."

"Why can't I move?"

"What's your name?"

"Jessica." She answered with a whimper.

"Hi, Jessica. I have a secret, I have a big one but I've never said it out loud! I mean, what's the point? It's not gonna change anything, it's not gonna make me good, make me adopt a puppy. I can't be what other people want me to be, what she _needs_ me to be. This is who I am, Jessica."

"Are you going to hurt me?"

"I'm not sure ... because you are my existential crisis. Do I kill you or do I not kill you?"

"Please don't."

"But I have to, Jessica because I'm _not_ human and I miss it. I miss it more than anything in the world! That is my secret but there is only _so_ much hurt a man can take."

"Please, don't."

A tear slipped from Damon's eye and he let her go,"Okay. You're free to go."

He watched her run to her car before speeding up behind her and biting her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Evanna woke up at around eight the next morning.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, but she couldn't shake the bad feeling that had crept up on her.

Evanna was tying her curly hair into a high ponytail when Elena walked in. Evanna and her cousin stared at each other for a little bit before bursting into laughter.

They were both dressed pretty much the same. Elena was wearing skinny black jeans, and a red short-sleeved top with black flats. Evanna was wearing skinny denim jeans, a red lace camisole with a white tank underneath and red converse. Both had ponytails.

Elena walked into the room and sat on the end of Evanna's bed, biting the inside of her lip.

"Hey, I had this nightmare last night that you told me Uncle John was back." Evanna said, pulling her fringe into a quiff.

"About that..." Elena began, and Evanna gasped, flying around to look at her.

"Oh, God, that wasn't a dream!"

"No. Stefan thinks having him here could help."

"But Stefan didn't call him...?"

"No."

"So, what's he doing here?"

"I didn't ask."

"Well, let's go find out."

* * *

Evanna stormed into the kitchen, Elena right behind her, where John was drinking coffee and watching the morning news.

"Good morning."

"What are you doing here?" Evanna asked sharply, folding her arms.

"Coffee?" John offered.

Evanna's head turned slowly around to Elena, and she shook her head.

"No," Elena told her father,"We're not doing that. We did that last night."

"No more avoiding." Evanna added,"Why are you _here_?"

"I'm here to protect you; both of you. That's all I can say for the moment."

Elena narrowed her eyes,"What do you mean that's all you can say?"

"I'll tell you more when I'm convinced I can trust you."

Evanna scoffed,"We're not the ones with reputations of being world-class dicks."

Elena bit her lip and stifled a laugh as Evanna feigned a sweet smile at John, tilting her head to one side.

"I'm late." Another voice said, rushing into the kitchen.

A feeling of panic crossed both Evanna and Elena as they looked at Jenna, trying to gauge a reaction.

"That's what you get for hitting the snooze three times." Alaric chuckled, walking in behind her.

"What the hell?" Jenna's eyes flew to the girls and back to John.

"Good morning to you, Jenna. Alaric…"

"It's okay I'm confused, right? Because we were not expecting you, like, _ever._" Jenna quipped, glaring at him.

"Well, I got in late last night. Elena let me in."

Alaric glanced at Evanna and Elena before speaking,"You know, I'm probably just gonna take off."

"I'm still confused here." Jenna piped in, making John turn back to her.

"I decided to come back and stay for a while."

"Not here, you're not."

"Actually, you can't stop me from living here."

Evanna's eyes widened, and she felt Elena grip her wrist.

"_Actually,_ I can. As legal guardian-"

"Yeah, about that… Girls, would either of you like to explain the situation or would you like me to do the honors?"

Both of them were silent as Jenna stared at them in confusion.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I should have told you earlier but…" Elena began, stepping forward.

Evanna shook her head in disgust at John.

She was going to _kill_ him.

"I'm Elena's biological father. There, now you know." John finished, walking passed them and leaving.

Jenna turned back to them.

"What?!"

* * *

Chaos erupted in the Gilbert House after that.

Jenna freaked out, which woke up Jeremy.

When Jeremy found out, he was ready to kill John too, but Elena stopped him. Jenna decided to go to work, saying she couldn't handle things right then and there. Evanna told Elena to go to Stefan and Jeremy decided to go into town and keep an eye on John from a distance.

"Don't worry; Jenna's just in shock. She knew you were adopted anyway." Evanna reassured Elena, pulling out of a hug.

"I know, but she already hates John."

"That doesn't mean she's gonna hate you. Miranda and Grayson were still your parents. Nothing _really _has changed."

"You're right." Elena nodded, pulling on her coat,"I'll see you later."

"Bye."

* * *

Evanna practiced some magic while she was alone.

She talked to her parents, talked to her siblings and then found herself sitting on the couch by noon. None of the television shows in front of her held her interest, and she found herself staring into her mug of tea for the majority of the time. The doorbell rang, and Evanna switched the television off, heading into the hallway.

"Where's John?" Damon asked, walking into the house.

"Not here, he left. I don't know where he went. He just blew in, announced to Jenna that he's Elena's dad and then took off."

"That's public knowledge now?"

"Apparently." Evanna pursed her lips, leaning against the wall.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Jenna's head is spinning, and Elena's freaking out, but I'm fine. John won't be when I find him, I'll tell you that."

"He say what he was doing here?"

"No. You know, Stefan thinks that he's telling the truth about wanting to help."

"Do you believe him?"

"No. I don't believe him for a second."

"Me neither."

"What are we going to do?"

"Kill him."

Evanna stood up straight,"Damon!"

Sure, she had said she'd kill him, but she wouldn't actually. Maybe make him hurt a little, but...

"I'm joking." Damon said, turning back to her,"Okay, I'm a little serious."

Evanna gave him a look and he shrugged,"I'm not gonna hurt him, Evanna. I'm the good guy now, remember?"

"What does that mean?"

"I'm gonna have a civil conversation with your uncle."

Evanna watched him go and then picked her leather jacket off the hook.

"I'm coming with you."

* * *

In the town square, John was contemplating what Carol Lockwood had told him.

Damon was in charge of the council now ... interesting.

"Jeremy! There you are." John smiled as Jeremy met up with him.

"Looks like I slept through the homecoming."

"You didn't miss much. Let's say that no one's happy to see me, which would be an understatement." John said as they began walking towards the Grill.

"Look, things are different now. You can't come around and start up with all this anti-vampire stuff."

"I have no intention of doing that. How's that ring been treating you?"

"Look, if this is what you came for, just take it and go." Jeremy tried to hand him the ring, but John didn't take it.

"What kind of a man would I be if I took that from you? You want to go grab some lunch?"

"I think I'll pass." Jeremy said, spotting Damon's car.

He jogged over to his cousin, but stopped when a man came over to her. The man asked Evanna to speak alone, and Jeremy slipped in beside Damon.

"Who's that guy?" Damon asked him.

Jeremy shrugged.

"I think that's Luka's father."

"The kid who destroyed the moonstone."

"Mmhmm."

"What does he want with Evanna?"

"You're the one with the super hearing; don't ask me."

* * *

"So, you two _were _working with Elijah." Evanna said,"I assume that's why Luka agreed to destroy the moonstone, no questions asked."

"The moonstone is safe." Jonas told her.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you. I'm not very trusting today."

"I know you must be very confused about us. We mean you no harm. You're one of us."

"Spare me the witch-loyalty crap."

"You might not want to believe this but Elijah is a man of his word. You can trust that he'll keep his end of the deal."

"I do trust him; he's shown me that I can. You, on the other hand..."

Damon walked up to them then,"Is there a problem?"

"Not at all." Jonas answered.

"Great, so you won't mind if I steal her away." Damon said, wrapping his fingers around Evanna's arm and pulling her away.

"What was that about?" Jeremy asked.

"Nothing that takes precedence right now. Wanna help us make John squeal like a pig?"

Jeremy slung his arm around Evanna's shoulder and squeezed her,"I already talked to him. I won't be much help. I'll see you two later."

Evanna turned to face the Grill and took a deep breath.

"You ready for this?" Damon asked her and she nodded.

"I'll let you know."

* * *

"I can't believe it. Elena is my sister's husband's brother's daughter and her mother is my boyfriend's deceased wife. You can't make this stuff up." Jenna figured out slowly.

Alaric nodded from his seat across from her,"It's definitely a little overwhelming."

"I can't believe that they kept it a secret; how is it even possible to keep a secret like that?"

"Hey, you two." John greeted as he stopped at their table,"Mind if I join you?"

Jenna downed the last of her drink,"Do you have to?"

"I guess I don't have to but might as well. Look who's here."

John said, glancing at the entrance where Evanna and Damon had just entered.

Evanna stopped Damon from heading over as soon as they stepped inside, and he looked down at her in anticipation.

"We just need answers. Please don't do anything stupid." She told him, sparing a glance at Jenna.

Jenna managed a small smile for her.

"Yeah, but stupid is so much more fun."

"Damon, I mean it. All I'm asking is you try to keep it together. Be the better man."

"Okay, then..." Damon drawled as they headed over to the table,"John, buddy, how've you been?"

"I've been alright, Damon. It's good to see you."

* * *

Damon had done a good job of pretending to like John, Jenna had met one of her friends at the bar and Alaric and Evanna stayed at the table.

"Wait, wait, wait." Evanna held up a finger,"This new werewolf girl told Tyler about Stefan and Damon?"

"Yeah. Stefan doesn't want to tell Damon; he'll kill Tyler."

"No doubt about that. This whole Rose thing ... he's acting off. I mean, he seems okay, but I have this feeling."

Alaric shook his head,"We'll have to wait and see, I guess. How's Elena doing?"

"She's with Stefan. To be honest, I don't think she really cares that John's back, she's just worried what Jenna thinks of her."

"She doesn't have to worry."

"That's what I told her." Evanna nodded, looking around,"A lot of people turned out for the memorial."

"A lot of them have people to remember. Then of course the schools are closed today."

"And The Grill is the only place to go." Evanna finished with a laugh, watching John and Damon talk,"What do you they're saying?"

"I don't really want to know."

* * *

John lit a candle for the memorial and turned back to Damon as the vampire got to the point.

"So John, rumor has it that you know a lot and won't say anything."

"How do I know you can be trusted, Damon? Originals can compel vampires and according to Stefan, that's why Katherine's still in the tomb; because an original has compelled her to stay there."

"Only because all of the vervain have left her system. Stefan and I, on the other hand, are chock full."

"You guys are drinking vervain?"

"It's an acquired taste. I don't see that magic little ring on your stitched finger so if you know something about Klaus, you better start talking or I will kill you in your sleep."

"Is that any way to convince me that you and I are on the same side? First, I need to know that I can trust you, Damon, that I can count on you. Then we'll talk."

Damon watched him walk away with a huff. He needed a drink ... or two.

* * *

They had all dispersed again.

Alaric was off talking with other teachers (having so many of her teachers in one place made Evanna a little nervous), Evanna had met some school friends, John had gone somewhere, Damon was drinking and Jenna was still with her friend.

"So, my friend wants to meet you. Damon Salvatore, this is…"

Evanna heard Jenna say, and turned around to look.

Why, she didn't know, but she still watched.

"I know you." He cut in,"You're the news lady."

"Yeah, Andie Star. Nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink, Damon?"

"My glass is all full, Andie." He said, tipping it towards her, "Thank you."

He stood up and walked towards Evanna, who turned away from her school friends,"You totally blew her off."

"I'm steering clear of all women at the moment."

"You didn't have to be rude."

"Trust me, it's in the best interest of women everywhere."

Evanna frowned, but the ringing of her phone interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, Stefan. How's Elena?"

"Okay. We have a problem..."

Damon looked back at her, overhearing the phone call. Evanna's frown deepened.

"What is it?"

* * *

Damon and Evanna had escaped to the bathroom for privacy after Stefan filled them in.

Evanna had had to tell him about Jules and Tyler's chat.

"Why am I just finding out about this now?"

"Stefan was worried that you -"

"That I'll what? That I'd kill him? Of course, it's what needs to happen."

"No Damon, not Tyler. Do whatever you need to do to get Caroline back but just leave Tyler out of it, okay?"

"Why? He's a werewolf, he needs to die. I'm willing to kill him, it's win-win."

Evanna touched his arm,"Damon, please, okay? Too many people are dead."

Damon stared at her for a minute, looking down at her hand before glancing into her eyes,"You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Assuming that I'll play the good guy because it's _you_ who's asking."

"I'm just asking you to be the better man, Damon."

The door was opened then and John appeared. He glanced pointedly at Evanna's hand on Damon's arm, and she quickly dropped it. Damon rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Do you mind?"

"What's going on here?"

Evanna shook her head,"Nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"Well, guess what John, trust works both ways. Get out."

Damon said and Evanna blew out a breath.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to get Caroline back."

Damon pointed between himself and her,"_We _don't need to do anything. I'll take care of it."

"Damon, if you get bit -"

"I won't." He turned to John,"You wanna protect her? Keep her here."

Evanna went to follow Damon out, but John held her back,"No, no. I'm with Damon on this one."

"Are you kidding me?"

"You're not going anywhere. Just tell me what's going on."

* * *

Evanna finally got away from John and headed for the exit, only to have him block her from leaving once more.

"You're not leaving this restaurant."

"You can't tell me what to do; you're not _my _father."

"No, but I am your uncle. I'm here to protect you."

"I've got that covered."

"Are you talking about the deal that you made with Elijah? Do you really think he's gonna keep his promise to you? Putting your faith in him was a dumb move."

"Are you saying I should put my faith in you? After everything that you did to Damon and Stefan?"

"We've had our difference and I've made mistakes but you and I, we're family."

Evanna sighed,"I can help them. A werewolf bite isn't fatal to witches..." She trailed off.

She had never actually told John she was a witch.

"You're a witch?"

"There's no chance of you forgetting I said that, is there?"

"No."

"Wait, you knew about Klaus. You know I'm the electi."

"I knew what Isobel knew, and I knew that he was after you."

"Maybe we _should_ talk..."

* * *

Evanna was sat across from John as he took everything she'd told him in.

"I don't know what I'm more shocked about; the situation or the fact that we had a conversation without animosity."

Evanna cracked a smile at his teasing,"You haven't given me much reason to like you in the last while."

"You liked me once. I was your favorite uncle once upon a time. You used to tell me not to tell Grayson."

Evanna giggled,"You took me for ice cream every time we were together. I was an easily impressed child. Besides, I never stopped liking you. I was angry at you, it's a different thing."

"I'm proud of you; all of you. You know that right?"

"You are?"

"Extremely. You guys are all I have left; will you let me be your uncle again?"

"Do you promise to trust us; not only me, but all of us."

"All I can promise is that I'll trust Elena, Jeremy and you..."

"Fine, I'll settle."

John smiled,"Do you think Elena will ever give me a chance?"

"I think so. Prove to her that you mean what you say, and I think you two will be fine."

* * *

Caroline stepped into the hallway of her house, still shaken up from the events of that day.

The physical wounds would heal, but her mind could only recollect the pain.

The doorbell rang, and Caroline sighed when she saw Stefan outside. She'd sent him home, saying she wanted to be alone.

"What's going on?" She asked him and he smiled; a rare, Stefan smile.

"I was a bit worried about you after everything you went through tonight."

"I'm fine."

"Good; but just in case, I brought some back up."

Evanna, Elena and Meredith appeared behind him, carrying supplies for a sleepover.

"We're going to slumber it up." Evanna told her as Caroline began to tear up.

"We haven't done it in ages." Meredith nodded as the three girls stepped inside and hugged her.

Caroline beamed and cried into them as they held on to each other tightly.

Elena looked back at Stefan and mouthed that she loved him.

Stefan smiled and mouthed it back before turning and walking away from the house.

* * *

Damon closed the front door behind him and spotted John in the living room.

They _really _needed to start locking the door.

"What do you want?"

"We didn't finish our conversation." John answered as Damon walked further inside.

"I'll bite."

"I've been thinking. Personal feelings aside Damon, I think you will do all you can to protect Evanna."

"I agree with that statement."

"So, I come bearing gifts." John unfolded a towel to show Damon the dagger and vial that was safely tucked inside.

"What is that?"

"This is how you kill an original. In this vial, is ash from a white oak tree that dates back to the genesis of the originals. The dagger must be dipped into the ash and then plugged into their heart."

Damon took the dagger and inspected it,"How do you know all this, John?"

"Isobel. She's very good at finding out things but of course you know that."

"Where is Isobel?"

"Let's just say if she accomplishes what she's attempting, Klaus will never set foot in Mystic Falls. Where Evanna's concerned, you and I are on the same side."

* * *

Damon thought back on the day once he was alone again and ended up getting drunk once again.

He had decided to take Andie up on her offer and that's how he found himself in the bathtub with her, drinking yet more alcohol.

"I can't believe you called me. I thought I was being way to forward when I had Jenna give you my number."

"I like a woman who knows what she wants."

"Thank you, so what do _you_ want mister tall, dark and handsome?"

"Well, I'm not _that_ tall. I need a distraction."

"You can booty call me anytime you want."

"You see, the thing is, miss sexy reporter girl, I have a problem I need help with. It's really messing with my mind."

"Oh, tell me about it."

"I'm in love with a woman I can never have."

"I knew it. I know how to pick them. So why can't you have her? She's with another man I assume?"

"No, but that's not the point; the point is I'm in love with her and that drives me crazy. I'm not in control."

"You don't trust yourself around her?"

"I don't trust myself around anyone, Andie. I'm bad. I do things - I kill people."

Andie gulped and he realized she was afraid of him.

He leaned forward and compelled her,"Don't be afraid, you're okay."

Andie relaxed and he leaned back again, sipping from his champagne glass.

"Why do you kill people?"

"Because I like it. It's in my nature, it's who I am ... but then I have to stay together to protect her and she wants me to be the better man which means _I can't be who I am_. Do you see the problem I'm having, Andie?"

"Well, maybe this is who you are now. Love does that Damon, it changes us."

Damon groaned,"Just ... stop talking. Kiss me, be my distraction."

They kissed, and that's when Damon decided to bite her.

* * *

Katherine was slumped against the tomb wall when John arrived.

She stood and frowned.

"I know you were expecting someone else." John stated.

"I sent Stefan to find Isobel."

"She got your message. She was busy so she sent me instead."

"Does Stefan know that you're _here_ right now?"

"No. No one does. This is between you, me and Isobel."

"I want out of this tomb, John."

"I'm already on it."


	14. Chapter 14

**Vampire Diaries **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So, here's another chapter, because my fellow fanfiction writer of a best friend cannot update her own story unless someone sits down and types with her. So, thank her for this.**

**(Her FF name is Safui; check her out. She writes for New Girl). **

**Also, both of us being immersed in writing distracts us from the various shenanigans we get up to whenever we're together. **

* * *

Evanna woke up the next day in Caroline's bed.

Elena's phone was ringing, and she reached out to get it.

All four of them were in one bed, so when Elena rolled over, she fell onto the pillows below her. Evanna snorted, Meredith grinned and Caroline giggled as Elena crawled into the hallway with her phone.

"Hello?"

"How was the slumber party?" Stefan asked from the other line.

"Good and much needed." Elena smirked at Evanna and spoke to Stefan,"When can you and I have one?"

Caroline and Meredith looked at Evanna to watch her reaction; Evanna could have a dirty joke at the tip of her tongue in a second, but was always the one who acted grossed out whenever another person made an insinuation.

"Ew!" She yelped out in a childish voice, scrunching up her face like a little girl.

"That can be arranged." Stefan chuckled in Elena's ear.

Elena stood up and went downstairs to make plans as the other three got up. Meredith and Evanna pounced on Caroline.

"How're you feeling, Care Bear?" Meredith asked her.

Caroline smiled genuinely,"Better. I was in need of a girl's night. Tyler came over after Stefan left."

"What happened?"

"I told him he was on his own. We're not friends anymore and he could go tell that to his little wolf pack."

"Have you talked to Matt?"

"I was supposed to meet him yesterday, and he called. I said that I had to meet Ava, she needed me for a friend thing."

"Uh... Care?"

"Yeah?"

"I was in the Grill all day yesterday. I was held hostage there by Uncle John."

Caroline clamped her hands over her face,"Oh! Now he thinks I blew him off on purpose."

"Maybe you could tell him I needed you." Meredith suggested.

"He knows you were spending time with your aunt. What am I going to do?!"

"You're going to relax." Evanna said,"We'll figure something out."

* * *

The girls spent the rest of the morning together.

After school (which ended at half-twelve for a staff in service; something about new safety procedures) Stefan and Elena left for their little two-day trip and Evanna went home with Jeremy.

"So, tell me about this big witchy plan you've been cooking up."

"We still don't know the extent of what Elijah's up to."

"No, we don't."

"So, I'm gonna ask Luka what he knows."

"He's not going to tell you anything."

"Didn't say I'd give him the choice not to."

Jeremy chuckled and high-fived her,"Why is the house so quiet?"

"Jenna and Alaric are at the historical society tea party."

"I don't think that's what they call it."

"I'm sure they have some big fancy name, but come on, it's a tea party."

"And where's my sister?"

"Trip with Stefan. They need the break. I'm going to go over to my Grams' house; haven't seen her in a week. Wanna come?"

"Sure."

* * *

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Evanna grinned,"Hi, Grams!"

Sheila chuckled and pulled her into a hug. She hugged Jeremy too and lead them inside.

"So, what's new?"

"John's back, and we can now _definitely _say there are more werewolves in town than we thought."

"Citizens?"

"Nah, out-of-towners." Jeremy answered, digging into a plate of cookies.

"And how is everyone?"

"Elena and Stefan are out of town, Meredith has just re-joined us; relatives were in town and they were clingy. Jenna knows about John being Elena's father, Matt is none the wiser and Caroline and Tyler are no longer talking."

"Because of yesterday?" Jeremy asked.

"Werewolves are loyal to their packs. Mason was apart of Jules's pack," She turned back to Sheila,"- new werewolf - so, Tyler is essentially a part of it too."

"But, it's _Tyler_."

"I know, I'm still kinda confused with that area. Oh, and Matt caught Caroline in a lie. They were supposed to hang out and talk about 'them', but because of what happened, Matt thought she blew him off. Caroline told him that I had an emergency and as my best friend, she had to help me."

"Where's the lie in that?" Sheila questioned, sitting down across from them.

"Matt was working, and Damon and John grounded me to the Grill yesterday. Caroline said that she had been with me while she was on the phone with him, not knowing that he was looking right at me."

"Oooh, what's she gonna do?" Jeremy picked up another cookie.

"Talk to him. God, supernatural aspects aside, our lives are so dramatic!"

* * *

Evanna and Jeremy spent a while with Sheila, and at three, Evanna received a text as they drove to the tea party (as Jenna requested).

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Caroline wants to talk to me. She asked where I was."

"Didn't you text her an hour ago?"

"Hence my confusion." Evanna laughed with Sheila as they got out of the car.

Jeremy shrugged as they headed inside.

Evanna spotted Luka and excused herself.

"Hey."

"You're talking to me again?"

"You're father helped save my friends. Tell him I said thank you."

"I will." Luka smiled,"Well, if I had known that's all it took."

Evanna laughed, and over with Jeremy and Sheila, Caroline joined them.

"How's it going?"

"She's selling it." Sheila nodded.

Caroline smiled and nudged Jeremy's side,"She's giving him the sex smile."

"Caroline!"

"I'm teasing."

* * *

Evanna was about to launch her questions when someone stepped up beside them.

"Elijah?"

"Evanna, how nice to see you. Luka, I think your father was looking for you."

Luka nodded and left.

"So, what are you doing here?" Evanna asked as they joined back with the group.

"As you remember, I'm a writer looking into the history of Mystic Falls."

"Right... my aunt's old files. Um, Elijah, this is -"

"Jeremy, Caroline and of course, Sheila. Caroline, I'm very sorry about what happened yesterday. How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks."

Carole called for Elijah then and he excused himself.

"So, that's Elijah?"

"Mmhmm."

"Seems nice." Caroline nodded,"Yummy too."

"Annnnd _that's _the Caroline we know and love."

Alaric passed them then, frowning.

Evanna caught his arm,"Hey, what's up?"

"John is threatening to tell Jenna about my 'extracurricular activities', as he put it."

"Where is he now?" Jeremy asked.

"Wondering why Damon and Elijah are talking."

"Woah, hold up; they're talking."

"More like having a meeting."

"Here?" Caroline asked in disbelief, glancing around at the packed house.

"No, in Richard's office."

* * *

"Why'd you threaten Alaric?" Evanna asked as she, Sheila and Jeremy entered the Gilbert kitchen.

"I said I trusted you, Jeremy and Elena. Not him."

"Why?" Jeremy asked,"Alaric's done nothing to you."

"He's Damon's little helper. Where's Elena?"

"At the lake house for the weekend." Jenna answered, walking in.

"With Stefan?"

"Yes, with Stefan." Evanna nodded.

"And who gave her permission for that?"

"I did." Jenna answered easily,"Until you get a lawyer, file for guardianship, it's my call, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I always knew you were lax with them but I didn't think you were negligent."

"This is coming from the man who leaves for months at a time." Evanna scoffed, giving him an 'are-you-serious?' look.

"She wanted to get away from you, okay, and so do I, so I'll be staying with Rick."

"Because he's such a great guy, right?"

Sheila set a hand on Evanna's shoulder to keep her from doing anything as Jenna turned,"You're on dangerous ground."

"He's a liar, Jenna."

"What?"

"Did he ever tell you what happened to his wife?"

"She died."

"Oh, they found her body?"

"What are you saying?"

"Why don't you ask Rick? I'd love to hear his answer."

"I'm leaving." Jenna told the three onlookers.

Jeremy stood and glared at John,"I'll drive you."

John shrugged, looking innocently back at Evanna.

"Was it something I said?"

Evanna rolled her eyes, narrowing her eyes into slits as she regarded him with distaste.

"You need help. _Professional_ help. I will pay for it."

* * *

John left soon after, and the doorbell rang soon after that.

Evanna pulled open the door,"Luka?"

"Hey, I wanted to talk."

"Sure, come in." She said, leading him into the kitchen,"Luka, this is my grandmother. Grams, this is Luka."

"Can we get you something to eat or drink, Luka?" Sheila offered as he sat on a stool.

"No, I'm fine, thank you. I was just stopping by. I know you have some questions, and I will answer them. I'm not as skeptical as my father, and we do want you to trust us."

"All right then. Why are you working with Elijah?"

"Klaus. We both want him dead."

"Why?"

"Because he has my sister and we have to get her away from him."

"Your sister? Why does he have her?"

"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the electi. He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries."

"What has Elijah promised you?" Sheila asked him gently.

"If we help Elijah kill Klaus, he's promised to return her to us."

"Wait, how are you going to kill Klaus? How do you kill an original?"

"This didn't come from me, okay?"

"Promise." Evanna nodded, and Luka continued,"After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance."

"After the sacrifice?" Evanna repeated as Sheila frowned.

"What do you mean 'after'?"

"Klaus will be vulnerable."

"But Evanna will be dead."

"Yes, you have to die. I'm sorry, that's all I know." Luka said, standing up,"I have to go; my dad will worry."

"No, it's fine. Thank you, for your help."

"I'll see you in school tomorrow." Evanna nodded and closed the door behind him, slowly turning around to face her grandmother.

"Well, that's not good."

* * *

At ten, Jenna and Alaric came in the door.

Evanna had been on the phone to Elena, who'd told her that werewolves had attacked them, thinking that Evanna was with them.

Everyone was safe, but Tyler was a guilty mess.

Jenna headed upstairs and Evanna gave Alaric a glance over,"What happened to you?"

"Werewolves attacked the Salvatore house, looking for revenge on Damon. I died, they tortured him and Elijah came and saved the day. How was your day?"

"We found out more about Klaus."

"Oh, do tell."


	15. Chapter 15

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Word had been passed along the group about Luka's revelation, and by the next morning, everyone involved knew.

"What do you mean Tyler ran away?" Evanna asked Meredith as they walked to class after lunch.

"Took off during the night."

"Poor Ty, Elena said he was a mess last night."

"How're you doing?"

"My death was always a possible factor in this, so I'm doing better than Tyler."

"Hey!" Alaric called, catching up to them.

"Where'd you go? We had a sub." Evanna asked with a grimace, making Meredith laugh.

"The sub was mean."

"I said I had a doctor's appointment."

Evanna gasped dramatically as they entered his empty classroom,"Skipping class, how teenager of you."

"I caught with Jenna and Elijah. She was showing him the old ruins."

"You sound jealous." Evanna giggled.

"I'm not jealous."

"Whatever you say..." Meredith sang teasingly.

"Okay, let's move on... where's Caroline today?"

"Half avoiding Matt, half avoiding Tyler - she doesn't know he ran away yet."

* * *

Evanna and Alaric headed to the Grill after school to meet up with Damon.

They spotted him at a booth with Andie.

"Um, what's going on there?"

"You sound jealous." Alaric mocked.

Evanna rolled her eyes, patting his chest.

"Oh, Alaric, how juvenile of you."

Of course she wasn't jealous. She was just worried about Andie's safety ... sure, the idea made her a little uncomfortable, but she wasn't jealous.

"Evanna," Andie smiled at her as they sat down,"How was school?"

"Dramatic, then boring, and then dramatic again. You know, just your average day in a high school."

Andie laughed and nodded, remembering her own days in high school.

"Hey, Rick, other than your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls, did you get anything out of Elijah?"

"No, it was boring. Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming."

"You sound jealous. Does he sound jealous?"

Andie nodded in agreement with Damon,"Kinda does."

Evanna beamed, letting out a laugh,"Ha!"

Alaric glanced at Andie,"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here."

"Andie? She's been compelled not to divulge my secrets. Haven't you?"

"Mhmm, my lips are sealed."

Alaric narrowed his eyes,"This is too weird."

Evanna gave Damon a look and rolled her eyes, sitting back in the booth.

Damon shrugged,"I just need the right opportunity with Elijah. Speaking of, here's Jenna and her new boyfriend."

Evanna looked up when Jenna and Elijah stopped by their seats and pulled their own seats up. Evanna sent Elijah a smile, one he returned.

"Hey, guys." Jenna greeted, slipping in beside Alaric.

"So, I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today." Damon smiled, flagging down a waiter for them to order drinks.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Jenna nodded, placing an order.

"Well, as much as I'd like to continue this, I've got papers to grade." Alaric said, standing up. Andie stopped him.

"No, you know what? We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party."

"Ooh, my girl. Full of good ideas. I'll be happy to host. Say tonight. Maybe?"

"It's good for me." Andie smiled,"Jenna?"

"I'm free."

"I don't know if tonight works..."

"It'd be a pleasure." Elijah smiled.

Eyes turned to Evanna and she took a deep breath.

"Sure, why not?"

Damon smiled a toothy grin at her.

"Great."

* * *

Evanna hung up the phone on Jeremy.

She'd told him she'd been roped into a dinner party, and that's all she could get out before he was laughing at her. She walked back into the living room to help Andie and Jenna set up the table. She still didn't know what Damon had planned, but she imagined it wasn't good.

"So, what's going on with you and Alaric?" Andie asked Jenna,"I'm sensing tension."

"I don't know. I really like him. It's more than like and I want it to work, but I can't help but feel that he's hiding something from me. And then I've got John whispering things in my ear about him."

"Like what?"

"Things I don't want to believe. Things I don't believe, not if they're coming from John's mouth."

"Exactly." Evanna said,"John likes to stir up trouble. It wasn't working on us anymore so he targeted Alaric. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Oh. Well, there you go, then. Trust is the key to any relationship. I mean, I am so grateful that Damon tells me everything."

Evanna bit the inside of her lip and gave Andie a smile before walking out of the room. Her mom had texted her at the perfect time, and she typed a reply as she walked through one of the many hallways.

"Hey there, princess."

Evanna looked up from her phone to see Damon,"Hi..."

"Is something up?" He asked, nodding towards her phone.

"No, it's just my mom. Is something up here?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't throw these things unless you're planning something."

"Don't you trust me?"

"Depends; do I have reason not to?"

"Not at all." He smiled, feigning innocence. Andie walked into the hallway then,"We need help with wine, Damon. You mind?"

"I'm coming now. You coming, Evanna?"

"I'm going to call my mom. I'll be in in a minute."

When Evanna did come back in, she saw John.

Evanna tilted her head as Alaric passed by and whispered to her,"Unwelcome surprise."

Damon walked in then with Elijah and small talk ensued. Before they sat down for dinner, Elijah took Evanna to the side.

"Damon wouldn't have anything planned would he?"

"No."

"Okay, then. Let's eat, shall we?"

"I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town." Jenna said, during dinner.

"Hmm, do tell."

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."

"Hmm. Because they were witches."

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem."

Everyone's eyes (sans Jenna and Andie's) turned to look at Evanna, who was biting her lip.

Damon sent a pointed grin her way,"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts."

Evanna sent him a headache, but only let it last for a second so Jenna and Andie didn't notice anyone. Alaric gave her a satisfied smirk and she shrugged.

Elijah's smile was filled with amusement as he stepped in to help Evanna's lineage,"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire."

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society." Jenna told him.

"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me." John shrugged.

Damon narrowed his eyes at Elijah.

"So why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?"

"You know... a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."

Damon nodded and echoed,"Of course."

* * *

"The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study." Andie suggested as they all stood up.

Evanna carried her plate into the kitchen, breathing out a sigh of relief. They'd gotten through dinner without any mishaps. Jenna came in behind her, looking a little glum.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Turns out John got to me a little."

"That thing about Alaric? Don't listen to him, Jen."

"I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have questions about Isobel's death."

"You don't have to feel bad about that; it's human. Just do me a favor, Alaric _really_ cares about you. Talk to him before you make any conclusion about your relationship with him."

"Promise. Wanna help me with dessert?"

* * *

A few minutes later and Andie and Elijah joined them in the living room.

"Sorry, dessert is taking longer than I thought it would." Jenna said,"Usually I unwrap food."

"So... I know this is a social thing, but I... I would really love to ask you some more questions about the work that you're doing here." Andie spoke to Elijah as Damon and Alaric walked back into the room.

Evanna peered at them curiously as Jenna went back into the kitchen. Evanna followed her inside to help.

"I'd love to answer." Elijah replied graciously.

Andie beamed,"Great, that's so great. Um, Alaric, can you fetch my notebook from my bag?"

"Elijah, did John tell you he's Evanna's uncle?"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that."

"Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list."

John gave him a look as Alaric continued looking for the notebook.

"Rick, it's in the front pocket. On the... you know what? Excuse me, guys. Sorry."

"What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?"

"Gentlemen, there's a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Evanna. I allow Evanna to remain in her house, living her life with her friends as she does, as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again."

Alaric frowned, standing up straight when Andie chirped in delight, pulling out her notebook.

"Okay. My first question is when you got here to Mystic..." Andie began.

Alaric picked the dagger off the desk and plunged it through Elijah's chest. Everyone stepped back in surprise.

"Get him out of here before Jenna or Evanna come back."

Damon nodded, impressed.

"All right then."

* * *

"You killed Elijah?!"

The dinner had ended, and Jenna and Andy had left, leaving Alaric, Damon, John and Evanna.

"We had to, Evanna. He's an original." Damon shrugged as they looked at Elijah's body.

"I knew you had something planned." Evanna scoffed as she and John went back upstairs.

"You said there wasn't going to be any violence." Alaric reminded Damon, who smirked.

"Says the guy that did all the killing."

"Hey, I took the shot because I saw an opening, not because I planned to do this with Jenna in the house. Now, you can't lie to me like that. Hey, I am your friend, damn it. And you don't have any friends. So, no more lying."

* * *

Upstairs, Evanna's phone began to ring as Alaric and Damon joined them.

"Stefan! What's up?"

"Originals believed in truth and honor. It was forbidden for a vampire to kill another vampire. So, the dagger would take both lives. And as long as the dagger stays in place, the Original, for all intents and purposes, is dead."

"Okay, what-"

"Yoink." Damon said, taking Evanna's phone from her.

"Damon!"

"Brother, what's up?"

Evanna, John and Alaric watched him. Damon slowly hung up the phone, set it down and used his vampire speed to rush down to the cellar where he noticed a lack of Original Vampire Corpse.

"Stefan and Elena are on their way. Elijah's gone."

"When you say 'gone'..." Evanna began. Damon pursed his lips.

"I mean gone. No longer there; but he'll probably be back."

* * *

They couldn't really do anything but wait until Stefan and Elena came back.

Damon took Evanna into the library, where they created a plan. Evanna had cast a spell on the house that wouldn't allow Elijah to gain entrance. Elena and Stefan were only an hour away, and Damon hoped Stefan drove a little faster so they didn't have to use their Plan B.

"He's here." Alaric said, peeking out the window of the library.

Outside, Elijah picked up some rocks and began throwing them at the door. It broke off its hinges, and he appeared.

Damon and Evanna shared a look; they had to use their backup plan.

Evanna picked up a knife off the desk and hid it behind her back.

Evanna turned to the rest of them,"You guys have to go. I have to talk to him alone."

"Evanna..." Damon said slowly.

"Damon, I'm okay. He can't come in the house."

"You know, I might not be able to enter this house... But I'm a very patient man. I'll wait you out." Elijah called.

Evanna turned and walked into the living room, heading for the door but staying inside the threshold,"They shouldn't have done what they did."

"The deal is off."

"I'm renegotiating."

"You have nothing left to negotiate with."

Evanna produced the knife from behind her back as Damon stood in front of John and Alaric to keep them back.

"I'd like to see you lure Klaus into Mystic Falls after the electi bleeds to death."

"Damon won't let you die."

"No, he won't. He'll feed me his blood to heal me, and then I'll kill myself and become a vampire. So unless you want that to happen, promise me the same as before... promise me... You won't harm anyone that I love. Even if they've harmed you."

"I'm sorry, Evanna. I'm going to have to call your bluff."

Evanna positioned the knife in front of her and plunged it into her stomach, becoming breathless instantly. Elijah lunged for her but was stopped by the barrier.

"No! Yes. Yes, you can have your deal. Let me heal you."

"Give me your word!"

"I give you my word!"

Evanna moved towards the door and fell into his arms. When his arms were around her, she pulled the dagger out of her pocket. It had been hidden by her top. She plunged it into his chest and killed him with it, swallowing the guilt she felt rising. They fell to the floor at the same time; Elijah dead and Evanna bleeding heavily.

Damon was by her side in a second, feeding her his blood as Alaric, John, Elena and Stefan appeared around them. Stefan glanced down at Elijah as Elena fell down to Evanna's other side. Damon looked at his brother and shrugged.

"Little tip; don't pull the dagger out."

* * *

John and Elijah went home and Elena gave Evanna a hoodie from her suitcase to replace her blood stained top.

Evanna was sat on a counter in the cellar as Stefan and Damon searched Elijah.

"Uhh! What do we have here? A little moonstone bar of soap. I'll hold on to this."

"So, that's it. I mean, as long as we keep the dagger in there, then he stays dead." Elena spoke.

Damon nodded at her,"Pretty much."

"Ok, then... Good night." Evanna stopped and turned to the brothers,"You know, you guys want me to fight, fine, I'll fight. But if we're gonna do this, you can't keep anything from me anymore. From this moment on, we're doing it my way."

"That seems fair." Damon nodded.

Evanna glanced at Stefan.

"Okay." He said.

"Okay." She echoed, before turning and following Elena out. Damon turned to his brother,"Well, at least she's had a change of attitude. How'd your trip go?"

"You wanna know?"

"Humor me."


	16. Chapter 16

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So, I'm going to try and get a few chapters up today, but it all depends on time and my attention span.**

**Enjoy though, and don't forget to review.**

* * *

Evanna woke up and began getting dressed for school immediately.

After the day she'd had the day before, school was a welcomed distraction.

The air had been tense between Jenna and John, but she'd been too tired to ask. Elena had stayed over with Stefan the night before, so Evanna only expected to see Jeremy in the kitchen.

She met John in the hallway and crossed her arms,"What did you do to Jenna?"

"She and Alaric had a fight."

"Hm, maybe because you messed with their relationship."

"Morning." Jeremy smiled as they walked into the kitchen.

"Mornin' Jer." Evanna greeted, mustering a smile for him.

"How'd the dinner party go?"

John and Evanna shared a look and Jeremy grimaced,"That bad, huh?"

John gave him a play-by-play of the night and by the end, Jeremy's eyes were wide.

"You _stabbed_ yourself?!"

"Sh, Jenna's upstairs!" Evanna urged him to lower his voice, and then nodded guiltily,"That was the back-up plan. Sadly, we had to put it to use. Besides, my powers helped the healing process anyway. Actually, the subject of powers brings up the subject of witches, which leads to my grandmother. Let's not mention the stabbing to her."

Evanna flipped open her ringing phone,"Yello?"

"Evanna, you need to get to Stefan and Damon's right now."

"On my way." Evanna hung up and excused herself, grabbing her school bag and keys.

"Okay, I gotta go. Jeremy, don't be late for school. John, just... don't talk to anyone. Ever. Thanks."

* * *

Evanna climbed the steps to Stefan's bedroom and frowned immediately, spotting the emergency.

"Katherine?" She turned to look at Damon,"What's she doing here?"

"When we killed Elijah, it broke the compulsion and freed the bitch from the tomb."

"How is that possible?" Stefan questioned.

"He's an Original. They have all sorts of special skills." Katherine mused.

Elena glared at her,"I don't want you here. Get her out of here."

"You need me; you all do."

"Like hell." Stefan said.

Katherine huffed and crossed her arms.

"We all want the same thing... Klaus dead. Yet here you all are, running around like chickens with their heads cut off."

Evanna leaned against the doorway,"We don't need your help and we don't want it."

"And that's incredibly stupid of you. Do you know where Klaus is? When he's coming, what he looks like?"

Damon rolled his eyes,"If you know something; say it or get out."

"Fine. Then I'll just go to the grill and have some lunch... maybe Aunt Jenna's free for a bite."

* * *

Elena, Stefan and Evanna went to school while Katherine and Damon stayed at the house and went through the journals Elena had found in the family cabin.

Evanna met up with Meredith and Caroline and listened to Caroline stress about Matt.

"Which is why this girl's night tonight is once again needed." Caroline finished.

Evanna smiled sarcastically,"Maybe we can invite Katherine?"

"Wait, she's out of the tomb?" Meredith exclaimed, quickly being followed by Caroline's own exclamation.

"Why did you let me drone on?!"

"We're dealing, just keep an eye out. She's getting really good at impersonating Elena. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go win over the Martins. They're not very happy with us over the whole Elijah thing."

"Good luck!"

* * *

Evanna met Elena by the door to Alaric's classroom.

She hadn't been able to find Luka, so she'd figured she'd find out what happened with Alaric and Jenna. Elena had the same idea.

"It was bad. You know, John planted all these seeds about Isobel and now Jenna knows I'm lying about something."

"Oh, I'm gonna kick his ass." Evanna sang, making them both smile.

"Yeah, well, easier said than done." Alaric quipped wryly,"Look, Jenna keeps asking about Isobel. You know, was she murdered? Why haven't they found the body? I mean, how much longer can she stay in the dark?"

Elena nibbled her bottom lip,"You think we should tell her the truth?"

"I'm saying I can't be with her and not tell her. It's not fair to her, and it's not the kind of relationship I want."

Evanna nodded, letting out a soft groan of defeat,"Not to mention it's becoming more dangerous for her not to know. I just thought that we'd at least hold off until after we've dealt with Klaus. You know, and even then, how do we tell someone what we know? How does someone hear that?"

"Look, I'm sorry to put this on you both. But I feel it's your decision to make. And whatever you decide to do, I'll respect it. I want to be honest with her. But until then, Jenna and I are done."

* * *

Stefan and Evanna found Luka at the Grill at lunch with his father.

They had agreed to meet up.

"Thank you for coming." Stefan greeted them as they sat down.

They had an hour for lunch, but even with the extended free time, they wanted to make this as quick as possible.

"I didn't want to, but my son made a case to hear you out." Jonas said.

"Evanna said you have information about Elijah's whereabouts..." Luka pressed.

Stefan clasped his hands together.

"Elijah's dead; we're sorry."

Jonas went to stand up but Stefan stopped him,"Hear me out. We can help you."

Jonas sat down again and Evanna took over.

"We know that Klaus has your daughter. We can all work together to get her back."

"How?" Luka asked eagerly.

Stefan looked at him,"I suspect that you and Elijah had a plan to kill Klaus. Let us help you carry it out. You can trust us. I give you my word. We all do."

* * *

Evanna parked beside Damon's car, getting out and striding into the Salvatore house, spotting Damon going through the box of journals.

He didn't look up at her when she stopped beside him, instead wagging his finger at her distractedly,"Tut, tut, skipping school."

"I feigned illness. What's that?"

"Journals." Damon answered cryptically.

"Why are we pouty?"

"He's in a bad mood 'cause he can't kill me." Katherine shrugged, walking in.

"I thought you were watching Elijah." Damon said, handing Evanna a journal.

"I got bored. Are those the Gilbert journals?"

Damon didn't answer her and Katherine sighed,"How am I supposed to help if you won't tell me what you're up to?"

"Can you tell me where a bunch of witches were massacred in this town a couple centuries ago?"

"No."

"Then you can't help."

Evanna pointed between them,"Do I have to separate you two?"

Katherine allowed a small grin at that,"Emily Bennett told me about the massacre. It was a big deal in witch folklore. When a witch dies violently, they release a mystical energy marking the place of their death with power."

"Elijah wanted to know the site of the massacre." Damon revealed to her.

Katherine frowned, sitting beside Evanna on the couch.

"What was he going to do when he found it?"

"I don't know. Evanna, what did papa witch and junior have to say?"

"Elijah had no weapon to kill Klaus but he believed that if a witch could channel enough power... They wouldn't need one."

"Like the power you get from a spot marked with a hundred dead witches?" Damon asked.

Evanna tilted her head back and looked at him.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We just need to find it."

* * *

Stefan came home and Evanna left for the girl's night shortly after.

Caroline leaned against the counter, iPad in hand.

"Chinese food or pizza?" The blonde asked the three girls.

Elena smiled,"Like you have to ask."

Caroline nodded with a laugh and turned on her device. She saw a picture of herself and Matt and bit her lip.

Meredith spotted it too and patted her shoulder, holding her hand out for the iPad,"Here, let me."

"Do you believe that Jonas is being sincere?" Elena asked Evanna.

"I don't know what to believe. I think he's at a loss. He's not sure who to trust."

Meredith scoffed,"Join the club."

"Well, what are we going to do about this movie situation? What about "The Notebook"?" Caroline suggested.

Elena turned around with a wry grin.

"Caroline, how many times have you seen that movie?"

"That is so not the point."

The girls began laughing just as Jenna walked in.

"Hey!" Evanna smiled widely.

"What's going on?"

"Girl's night." Meredith answered.

"Oh."

"How're you doing?" Evanna asked her softly.

"You heard about my fight with Rick."

"He feels terrible." Elena informed her.

"Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?"

Evanna glanced back at the girls,"No. No, this is about us girls hanging out and you know, we'll be here if you happen to want to talk, or..."

Caroline chuckled humorlessly,"Because I am a winner when it comes to successful relationships."

"You, too, huh?"

"You have no idea."

"It's this whole Isobel thing. He's hiding something from me." Jenna leaned against the counter.

"To play devil's advocate," Caroline began,"Maybe there is a great reason why he's not telling you. Maybe he is just trying to protect you."

"Well, that's not his call to make. I mean, I deserve the truth. Everybody does."

"Sometimes it's harder than that." The blonde sighed sadly.

"Not if it's somebody you care about, it isn't."

"You know what we need?" Meredith asked, standing up,"Dancing! There's a band at the Grill."

* * *

Caroline disappeared to go talk to Matt while Jenna consciously avoided Alaric.

Evanna found Elena outside the bathroom.

"I wouldn't go in there." Elena shook her head with a grin,"Caroline and Matt are..."

"In the bathroom?!" Evanna exclaimed, knowing they'd hear her.

Evanna shook her head, and went to talk to Alaric as Elena answered her phone, heading in the other direction.

Meredith excused herself from a group of school friends when she spotted Jonas come in the door looking very distressed.

"Dr. Martin, are you okay?"

"Where is she?"

"Who? What's going on?"

"He's dead; my son is dead. Where is Evanna?"

"Whatever it is you think you need to do, there's a better way."

"They killed Elijah and they killed Luka and my only shot at getting my daughter back is if I have Evanna."

"No. No, Dr. Martin!"

Jonas used his powers to make a lamp beside them explode.

People gasped and jumped out of the way of the glass, but (Meredith noticed) nobody expected Jonas had been the cause.

"Where is she?!"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her."

Jonas broke the rest of the lights.

Evanna glanced up when the lights went off.

"Hm..."

"Power's out." Alaric stated.

Elena and Stefan hurried over to them.

"We have to get out of here."

"Why?" Evanna asked.

"Jonas is here and he's after you. Luka is dead."

"I'll get Jenna out of here." Alaric said, jogging off.

"We should find Caroline and Meredith."

Matt and Caroline were coming out of the bathroom when they arrived. Stefan realized Meredith was with Jonas, and Elena ran off to play the oblivious card. Matt went off to help with the lights.

"What's the problem?" Caroline asked.

Stefan recounted the events to her.

"Oh, my God, what do we do?"

"I have a plan, but we need to get Evanna out of here."

Fire erupted from a corner, and chaos broke out.

The three ran to Elena and Meredith.

Evanna raised her hands,"Dr. Martin! I'm so sorry about Luka. I never wanted that to happen, but... at least let us help you get your daughter back."

"Only Elijah can do that."

"You need Elijah for that!" She exclaimed.

Jonas set fire to another part of the bar and turned to Evanna. Caroline jumped on him, tried to bite him but Jonas sent her a magical headache.

Stefan and Elena used Jonas's distraction with Caroline to get Evanna out. Meredith followed them out.

Matt ran up and yelled at Jonas to get away from Caroline. Jonas broke a bottle and stabbed Matt in the neck with it before fleeing. Caroline dropped beside him, calmed herself down and began feeding him her blood as parts of the Grill burned around them.

* * *

Jeremy opened the front door for Evanna as Stefan and Elena talked to Damon and Katherine on the phone outside.

"I can't believe Luka's dead. He didn't deserve it." Evanna sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"No, he didn't." Jeremy nodded, rubbing her shoulder in comfort.

"It's not over yet." Elena said, walking in.

She nodded back at her boyfriend,"He'll explain."

Stefan clued them in, and after, Evanna sighed.

"Sounds good. I'll be upstairs."

"Jer, when did you get home?" Elena asked as Evanna left.

"About ten minutes before you guys."

"Did you check the house?" Stefan asked him.

"Why would I check the house?"

Upstairs, Evanna closed her bedroom door only to see Jonas behind it. He grabbed her and covered her mouth, but was thrown off her and bit by Katherine. Damon stood in front of Evanna. The plan was to have Katherine pose as Elena and incapacitate him. Katherine let his body fall to the floor as everyone else ran upstairs.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Elena exclaimed.

"Yes, we did."

Evanna got closer to Jonas and looked at him sadly. His eyes opened and he grabbed her. Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and moved her out of the way as Stefan killed Jonas.

* * *

Katherine and Stefan got rid of the body as Evanna and Damon stood downstairs.

"How did you guys convince Katherine to do this?"

"It was her idea, actually."

"Wow. That's... not good."

"Not at all." Damon agreed, glancing up when the group came back downstairs.

"Everything's taken care of." Stefan told them.

Katherine reached behind her neck and unclasped Elena's necklace, holding it out to her,"I'm guessing you're going to want this back. But your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean."

Elena took her necklace back and glanced at her boyfriend,"You're going to have to get her out of here before Jenna gets home."

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Katherine asked her, prompting her descendant to look at her.

"This doesn't change the way I feel about you."

"I don't much like you, either, if we're going to be open and frankly, I'd be happy to see you dead but if we're going to try to take on Klaus, we kinda need to talk to each other. So I'm not a threat to you or your family, Elena. If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that."

Jeremy let the curtain he was holding back drop and turned to the group.

"Jenna's home!"

* * *

"Tonight was weird."

Evanna and Elena glanced up at Jenna from the kitchen table. Elena nodded.

"Very."

"I wonder what happened?"

"Probably electrical difficulties or something." Evanna shrugged,"Well, I'm beat. Goodnight, family."

"Night." Jenna called. The strawberry-blonde frowned then and spoke,"Are John and Jeremy asleep?"

Elena nodded,"I think so."

"If I go to bed right now, there's a chance I'll wake up hangover-free."

Elena smiled and got up to answer the door, the bell ringing incessantly,"Slim chance."

Elena pulled open the front door and felt her stomach plummet.

Jenna came out to the hallway,"Elena, who's at the door?"

"Hello, you must be Jenna." The woman smiled.

"Yeah, who are you?"

"I'm Isobel."

Elena gulped.

"Elena's mother."


	17. Chapter 17

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

"Hello, Elena." Isobel beamed at her daughter,"It's nice to see you again."

Jenna stared at Elena in disbelief,"Again?"

"So you're the woman who's dating my husband. I need to speak to Elena. May I come in?"

"No, no, do not invite her in!" Elena exclaimed.

"I need to talk to you, Elena."

"No!" Elena slammed the door in her face and turned to Jenna, who had tears streaming down her face.

"You knew she was still alive? Ric? John? Did they know?"

"I can explain everything, Jenna."

"No."

"No, Jenna, please."

Jenna turned and ran upstairs. Elena sighed and followed her up, reaching her bedroom door as it locked.

"Jenna, please. Wait. Jenna, please wait. you have to talk to me. I... I need to explain what's going on. Jenna, please."

Evanna's bedroom door opened in unison with Jeremy and John's. Evanna frowned.

"What's going on?"

"Isobel..."

* * *

Evanna guided Elena to her room and stayed with her until she fell asleep.

She then went and knocked on Jenna's door.

"Jen? It's me."

The lock turned and Jenna opened the door,"Did you know?"

Evanna nodded slowly,"We don't have to talk now. That's something between you and Elena; I just wanted to see how you were?"

"Shocked and betrayed pretty much sum it up."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm just going to go to bed."

Evanna nodded and stepped back from the door,"Okay. Goodnight."

Evanna went back to her room and saw Jeremy on her bed.

"I called Stefan." He said, throwing her mobile to her. Evanna caught it and set it on her nightstand.

"What'd he say?"

"He wanted to talk to Elena, but I told him you'd gotten her to sleep first. He'll see you guys in the morning."

Evanna nodded and sat beside him,"We're going to check out Jonas and Luka's place; see if they had any new information. Wanna come?"

"Sure. Who else is going?"

"Damon and Grams. We're going to try find where the witches were burned."

"Alright, I'll meet you back there after school."

Evanna said goodnight and watched him go before climbing into bed and falling asleep. She was not looking forward to the next day.

* * *

"Hey. Is she up yet?" Alaric asked, referring to Jenna.

Evanna shook her head and ran a hand through her hair,"She won't come out of her room."

"What'd you tell her?"

"Nothing." Elena answered,"She won't talk to me."

Evanna heard footsteps and glanced up the stairway with a small, soft smile,"Hey."

Alaric stepped forward,"Jenna."

"I don't want you here, Rick. You need to go."

"Okay, listen. I can't begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now."

"Rage and betrayal would cover it." Jenna told him, bending down and picking up her bag.

Elena frowned,"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to stay on campus. I have a thesis to write, and I don't want to be in this house"

"Jenna, please just stop. Let us explain to you exactly what is going on." Alaric pleaded with her.

"Elena, I need you to go to the Lockwood's today and accept the historical society's check for your mom's foundation."

"Ok, but, Jenna, please just..."

"I don't have it in me to hear any more lies from you."

Elena watched the front door close,"Jenna, just ..."

"Let her go." John shook his head, walking out of the kitchen,"It's better that she's not here, what with everything that's going on but, maybe, had you been a little more honest with her from the beginning, this..."

The two Gilbert girls watched as Alaric stepped up and punched John across the face. Elena went to help her father up as Alaric shook out his fist.

"Sorry, girls." He apologized before leaving the house.

Evanna, who had been silently leaning back on the wall, let out a laugh as she looked at John,"I'm so glad he did that. It was a matter of time before someone bitch-slapped you."

Elena wore her own smile as she looked at John,"You know this is your fault, right?"

"Right."

* * *

"Ah, this is bad." Elena paced back and forth in her bedroom as her boyfriend and cousin watched,"Between Isobel and Jenna and now Matt, this is disaster bad."

They'd been informed that Matt knew about Caroline and was avoiding everyone while he freaked out. John walked into the bedroom; his nose had stopped bleeding, but it was bruised and slightly red. Nothing else was funnier to Evanna.

"Evanna, can you come downstairs, please? I need to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you, Rudolph."

"Please. It's important. You guys, too." He said, pointing at Elena and Stefan.

Evanna shared a look with them before they all followed John downstairs.

Elena glanced at the visitor in disbelief as Evanna smacked John's arm,"You invited her in?! You had _one _job!"

"I asked John for a do-over." Isobel shrugged as eyes turned to John for his explanation.

Evanna scoffed,"Yeah, _that's_ reassuring..."

John sighed,"She has information about Klaus. Please, just listen to her, okay?"

Stefan sighed,"All right, what do you know?"

"Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus. We knew our best chance was to find him before he could find you." Isobel said, as Evanna stared back, blinking slowly.

"Best chance at what?" Elena questioned from beside her.

"Keeping Evanna alive."

"Oh, no, you don't get to talk, okay? Not after everything you've done." Elena glared at him, causing a smile to break out on Evanna's face.

Stefan was the only one able to stay on point as he asked Isobel,"Were you able to find Klaus?"

"No. Nobody knows where he is but there are these rumors that are flying around. That the electi exists." Isobel replied.

"Which means any vampire that wants to get in favor with Klaus will be lining up to capture you." John finished.

Evanna sat forward,"I'm not buying any of this. The last time that you were here, you made it clear that you didn't give a damn about us. Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to believe that you want to help?"

"Isobel's been helping all along. Klaus has been obsessed with finding you for centuries. Any supernatural being with information about you who was too liberal with their words would bring Klaus straight here to Mystic Falls, where you were bound to be discovered, so we killed them." John revealed,"That's what happened on Founder's Day."

"Yeah, and you almost killed Damon and Stefan in the process." Evanna reminded them,"Now if you excuse me, I have school."

Isobel stepped up to Elena before she and Stefan left too,"Elena, please. Let me help."

"You wanna help? Get the hell outta my house."

* * *

Evanna and Jeremy picked Sheila up before driving towards the woods, where Evanna parked her red Audi A4 behind Damon's car.

"Wait, so Alaric slugged John?"

"Yup." Evanna giggled as she and Jeremy climbed out of her car.

"And I missed it?"

"I should've had a camera." Evanna sighed with a pout,"I'd have replayed it over and over."

"It's about time someone gave John what he was asking for." Sheila shrugged,"If it hadn't of been Alaric, it would've been me."

"Grams!" Evanna exclaimed, laughing. She was half-shocked, half-amused as Sheila shook it off as if it was nothing,"Although, I was heading in that direction too."

"You Bennett women." Damon tut-tutted teasingly,"So violent."

He opened the door to the apartment and they all walked in.

Evanna sighed sadly at Luka's body laying in the middle of the living room, but Damon hid it from her view with a blanket,"You know, we could just get another match and cremate him."

"Don't be disrespectful." Evanna chastised,"Not to him."

"Fine. I'll bury him."

"We should pack up the grimoires. They spent years collecting them. I wanna make sure they're safe." Sheila said, gliding along the bookcase.

Jeremy furrowed his brows,"What exactly are we looking for?"

Evanna stepped up beside him,"According to Luka's dad, one of these contains a spell that'll let a witch harness the energy that's left behind when another witch dies violently."

"I didn't know you and father witch were so close." Damon remarked behind her.

"We weren't. He was innocent."

"He tried to kill you; you remember that, right?"

"He lost both of his children. He was lost."

"You're too forgiving, you know that?"

Evanna glanced over her shoulder at him slyly and gave him a once-over,"_Clearly_."

Jeremy snorted and let out a chuckle as Evanna smiled sweetly at Damon. He smiled sarcastically back.

"Hm, cute. Well, if we're done here, why don't we go harness dead-witch power?"

Evanna frowned and spun around to face him,"You know where the witches were burned?"

Damon grinned wryly back with a wink,"Did I forget to mention that?"

Evanna rolled her eyes at him and shared a look with her Grams.

Jeremy picked up another grimoire,"Are we gonna have to read through every one of these books till we find the right spell?"

"Not exactly." Sheila said, closing her eyes and mumbling a spell. When she was done, she looked back at Evanna who pointed at a large, leather bound book.

"It's that one!"

"Great." Damon said,"Grab the rest and let's get out of here."

* * *

Damon and Evanna went back to the Boarding House as Jeremy and Sheila took the grimoires to her house.

"Do you really think that Isobel's telling the truth that word's gotten out about ... well, me?" Evanna asked the Elena, Stefan and Damon as they sat in the living room.

"Look, I don't trust a word that she says, but I think we'd be stupid to ignore the warning." Stefan admitted.

"You know, you should just stay here. It's better for us to keep an eye on you." Damon suggested, sprawling out on the couch and leaning his back against the arm rest.

"What, in the house that any vampire can enter? No. Her house is safer." Stefan rationalized, causing Damon to shrug,"Well, then, we'll stay there."

"So is that the plan? Neither of you will let me out of your sight again?"

Damon pursed his lips,"Let me know when you find a better one."

Evanna pouted,"Bye bye freedom; it was nice knowing you."

Elena smiled and threw an arm around her shoulder,"It's okay. You'll move on."

"I just loved it so much!" Evanna cried dramatically. The two girls stared at each other before their act dissolved into laughter.

"Well, if you two are done, we should get going." Damon said, standing up.

Elena turned to her cousin,"We'll be at the luncheon. Call if you need anything."

"Don't worry." Damon waved her off,"She and I have witch stuff to attend to."

Elena frowned,"Does that mean you're taking her to the-?"

Damon put a finger to his lips and hushed her, nodding behind her.

"Don't get quiet on my account. If you have a plan to combat the impending vampire doom, please do tell." Katherine said, bracing herself against the back of the couch.

No one answered and Damon shared a pointed look with his brother.

"Seriously, what is the plan to get us out of this mess, hmm? I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf, and the dagger to lure and kill Klaus, and right now all you have is a moonstone. Or so you tell me." Katherine folded her arms as Damon nodded.

"No, we have it."

"Where is it?"

"In a very safe place." Damon answered cryptically.

"I've been honest with you. Time to return the favor."

Damon shrugged,"Fine, I'll be honest with you. Don't mistake the fact that we haven't set you on fire in your sleep for trust."

"Fine. Be that way."

* * *

"Did you two find anything in the grimoires?" Evanna asked as Jeremy and Sheila climbed into her car.

Damon had decided to drive, which caused Evanna to exclaim that it was her car. Damon had resorted to holding her keys in the air, so she couldn't reach before Stefan slapped the back of his head. Still, Damon wound up driving.

"Nothing yet." Sheila admitted,"Where is this spot?"

"An abandoned house in the woods." Damon shrugged, pulling away from the driveway.

"How cliche." Jeremy commented.

* * *

It was only a short drive, and they walked the rest of the way. Jeremy stared at the large, creepy-looking house.

"Is this the spot Emily Bennett was killed, too?"

"Founders thought it was poetic burning her where the other witches burned."

Evanna narrowed her eyes,"How do you know where the witches were burned?"

" 'Cause I tried to save her. Emily was just my key to getting Katherine back before I knew what a nasty little bitch Katherine was."

Jeremy laughed as they headed towards the house. Damon opened the door and stepped inside, Evanna following close behind.

As they stepped further in, Jeremy stepped on a creaky floorboard and jumped back. Evanna bit her lip to keep from laughing, and looked up at Damon. He was smirking, but clearly stifling his own laughter. A small giggle escaped Evanna's lips, causing Damon to chuckle. Jeremy glared at them both.

"Oh, shut up."

Damon stepped forward into a spot of sunlight and stopped.

Sheila looked at him oddly,"What?"

"Whatever witchy prank one of you is playing, don't. It's not funny."

Sheila looked at her granddaughter who shrugged,"We're not doing anything."

Damon's skin began to burn and he groaned,"And now my rings not working." His blue eyes locked with Evanna's brown ones,"Do something."

Evanna concentrated and closed her eyes. Damon fell out of the sunlight, but managed to stay upright.

Evanna shrugged, scrunching up her nose,"I don't think the witches like you being here."

Jeremy nodded with a goofy grin,"I guess this is the right place."

"I'm gonna go wait outside."

* * *

Damon paced outside the house,"You guys wanna hurry up in there?"

Evanna came out into the hallway,"Patience is a virtue, Damon."

"Yeah, a virtue I don't have."

"Then leave."

"I can't, I'm supposed to protect you, remember?"

Evanna sighed,"I have Grams and Jeremy here, and hey, I _actually _have powers myself, strong powers. It's not like I'm defenseless."

Damon's phone rang and he glanced at the screen,"What, Elena?"

"John was attacked at the luncheon. He's dead but wearing his ring. It must've been Isobel."

"Tell him he needs to get over here and deal with John's body." Damon heard Stefan in the background.

Elena sighed,"You've got some serious explaining to do to the council about John being not so dead. Good luck."

Damon stared at his phone after Elena hung up.

Evanna nodded at it,"What happened?"

"Isobel attacked John at the luncheon."

"Is he okay?"

"He's dead, but he'll come back. Caused quite a scene."

"Go."

"Evanna-"

Evanna touched his arm gently and nodded,"Go."

Damon stared back at her for a minute before looking into the house,"Jeremy!"

"Yeah?!" He heard the boy call back.

"Do not let Evanna out of your sight!"

"Okay!"

Evanna rolled her eyes and walked back into the house,"Bye."

"Be careful."

"You, too."

* * *

"Can you hand me the grimoire?" Evanna asked her cousin, who looked behind him for the book.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Don't worry so much, Jer." She teased,"You'll get wrinkles."

Sheila had gone upstairs to look around as the two teenagers stayed downstairs.

Evanna rested the book that was larger than her head on her arm as she used her free arm to open it. She found a letter and read it, hearing voices begin to whisper.

"What is it?" Jeremy frowned, looking around.

"Spirits of the witches who died here, I can feel them."

"All right. What are they saying?"

"I can't tell."

Evanna walked out of the room and headed down to the basement, standing in the middle of the room.

Jeremy stopped on the last step,"What?"

"Here. This is it. Help me set the candles." Evanna put a hand to one of her ears as the whispers began getting louder and louder.

Sheila hurried down the stairs after them, hearing the whispers too. Jeremy was the only one who couldn't understand them.

"What the hell are they saying?"

Suddenly, the whispers stopped and one yelled out in Sheila and Evanna's ears. A warning.

Evanna glanced at her grandmother as the house plunged into silence. The witches wouldn't allow Evanna to harness the power because she was the electi, and that much power would kill her.

Jeremy raised his hand,"Hi, I don't speak witch."

"The power can't be harnessed right now." Sheila explained,"We should come back another day."

Evanna sighed, running a hand through her hair, disappointed with the failure.

* * *

They headed back to the Gilbert house and waited for news on John.

Evanna sighed and headed upstairs to her room.

Isobel snuck up on her and knocked her out.

By the time Sheila realized something had happened, Isobel was gone. Sheila picked up the house phone and dialed the Salvatore's number.

* * *

Isobel was driving down the road, Evanna unconscious in the backseat when Katherine called her.

"Are we good to go?"

"I'm at your house, but we have to hurry." Katherine said,"Damon knows your lodging tricks. It will take him all of 20 minutes to find out where you're staying."

"We'll be long gone before that." Isobel promised as they pulled up.

Katherine put an unconscious Elena in the backseat with Evanna and turned to Isobel.

"Great."

"I'm sorry, Katherine." Isobel said, plunging a stake into her stomach,"I had to do what I was told. He wanted the moonstone and he wanted you."

Katherine watched her drive off and turned around, pulling the stake out. A warlock was stood behind her. Katherine rushed over, but he used his powers to give her an aneurysm and knock her unconscious.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Damon and Stefan arrived at the house.

"Think this is the house?" Stefan asked as his eyes roamed around it.

"Better be. It's the nicest foreclosure in town."

"Swear to God if she's not here..."

"Oh, Stefan, don't be such a pessimist."

"I've got upstairs." Stefan claimed, speeding up the steps.

Damon looked around the house, and found nobody. He did, however, find Isobel's luggage. Stefan sped back downstairs and stopped beside his brother.

"This is Isobel's stuff. It's definitely the right place."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know, Stefan."

* * *

In Isobel's car, Elena began to stir.

She frowned out the window at the graveyard before staring at her still asleep cousin. She realized with a sigh of relief that Evanna was breathing, just softly.

"Isobel, what are you doing?"

"I just want to talk things out."

"Why'd you attack Evanna for that?"

"Just, follow me."

Elena shook her cousin awake, explained what had happened and climbed out of the car with her. Evanna leaned against a tree as Elena and Isobel stopped in front of a grave.

"So is that what happened? You were compelled to betray Katherine?" Elena asked her.

"If I was, I couldn't tell you." Isobel admitted, slightly sheepish.

"So you lied. You did find Klaus, didn't you? He knows where Evanna is now!" Elena glanced at the headstone finally,"What is this?"

"My parents, your grandparents, they put it here when it became clear that the police weren't gonna find my body. They visit every week, and they bring flowers, even though there's no one buried here. The Isobel they knew is dead. So maybe there's a part of me that's buried here, the - the human part, the part that I abandoned when I - when I chose to become a vampire, the part that used to dream about the day that she'd know her daughter."

Elena folded her arms protectively,"What?"

Isobel shrugged,"And instead you got to meet the other part... The part that would betray her own flesh and blood."

Isobel's phone rang, and she picked it up,"Yes?"

"I have Katherine and the moonstone. Is the electi safe?"

Isobel glanced at Evanna, who'd put her attention somewhere else to give Elena and Isobel privacy, even if Isobel didn't deserve it. Elena followed Isobel's eyes with a troubled frown.

"Yes." Isobel answered the warlock.

"Then let her go."

"Let her go?"

"Klaus has everything he needs for now. Your part is finished. You did what he compelled you to do."

"I'm done?" Isobel asked hopefully.

"You're done."

Isobel hung up the phone with a smile.

"Who was that on the phone?" Elena asked, becoming worried for both her and Evanna's safety.

"I'm so sorry, Elena... That I was such a disappointment to you." Isobel reached around her neck and took off the necklace that protected her from the sun.

She spread her arms and burned away. Elena's hand flew to her mouth and she stepped back in shock. When Isobel was gone, Evanna stepped up and set a hand on Elena's shoulder.

"Come on, let's go home."

* * *

Stefan watched his girlfriend turn Isobel's necklace in her hands sympathetically.

"Is that Isobel's?"

"I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead, and yet..."

"She was your mother. C'mere." Stefan stood and held his hand out for her.

Elena took it and accepted his hug. Stefan led her into the living room, where John lay slumped on the ground and Damon and Evanna talked.

"Why did he let us go?" Evanna asked Damon as they walked in.

"Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right? So he knows that you're not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows that you have us keeping you safe." Stefan answered.

Evanna gave Elena a questioning smile, silently asking if she was okay. Elena nodded and gripped Stefan's hand tighter.

"He knows I'm not going to run." Evanna concluded.

"Which is why we need to take some precautions, 'cause we got played, all of us." Damon said, setting papers down on Evanna's legs.

The brunette glanced down at them.

"Oh, papers! Why are there papers?"

"It's the deed to our house. It's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name." Stefan replied with an amused smile.

"You're giving me your house?" Evanna asked in disbelief.

"Isobel had the right idea with the safe house. You'll just stay here till it's all over. That way, you can control who gets invited and who doesn't." Elena said.

The brothers had brought the idea up to her earlier on in the day.

Damon sat beside Evanna and nudged her playfully,"Although I'll be super pissed if you lock me out."

Evanna smirked at him from under dark lashes, looking every inch the Cheshire cat.

John groaned and began to wake up, but Damon sped over to him and grabbed his shirt.

"I swear I had no idea what she was gonna do. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." John apologized profusely.

Elena stood up and leveled her gaze on her father,"Damon, let him go. He and I need to talk."

* * *

An hour passed and Stefan's amusement over Evanna and Damon's bickering was only growing.

Finally, Elena and John entered the room, which stopped Evanna from smacking Damon for a joke he made.

"Are you ready to go home?" Elena asked, sticking her hands in her jean pockets.

Evanna nodded,"Sure, hold on."

She turned back to Damon and smacked his arm before clapping once, a satisfied grin on her face,"Okay, let's go."

Stefan chuckled,"Bye."

He stood up and gave Elena a kiss before they walked out.

Damon and Evanna shared a grin before making kissy noises at them.

Elena rolled her eyes as Stefan took on a serious tone,"Evanna, don't forget. Be here before school to talk to the lawyer."

"I will. Meredith'll be here too, her car's in the shop so I'm picking her up."

"What happened to her car this time?" Elena asked.

"Her father was working on something in the garage, dropped a screw on the ground and forgot to pick it up. Her tire burst."

"Why doesn't she just change it?" John questioned as they made their way into the front hallway.

"It's lodged. Won't come off."

"So, Meredith has as much luck with cars as you do?" Damon joked.

Evanna pouted,"Hey! Nothing's happened with my car since like the end of October."

"And it's coming to the end of April. Big improvement." Damon laughed, making her pout deepen, her bottom lip sticking out.

"Woah, what happened in October?"

"I crashed." Evanna admitted to John,"Did the whole flippy thing. But that wasn't my fault! There was a vampire standing in the middle of the road."

Evanna saw their amused faces and huffed,"Like you people can judge! Geez..."

* * *

Evanna found Jeremy in the kitchen, reading the grimoire, when she got home.

"I thought I told you not to worry about that."

"A warning. That's all you felt like telling me? This is some kind of warning, Evanna. It says if you use too much of your powers at once, it'll kill you. Why didn't you tell me? How much would it take to kill an Original?"

"All of it. But I'm not going to do it. The witches wouldn't let me, so I can't. Please stop worrying about it and get some rest."

"Fine."


	18. Chapter 18

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Evanna did the morning pick up the next day.

Elena rolled down the passenger window and called out for Meredith. Caroline followed after the redhead, looking solemn.

"What's up, buttercup?" Evanna asked, adjusting her sunglasses.

May had gotten off to a sunny beginning, and Evanna had dressed in a short, floral play suit, white flats and a white headband. Her hair had been straightened, which was something she didn't do often. The play suit end came to mid-thigh, showing off her long legs.

"Matt. I had to compel him into forgetting about everything. He asked me too."

Elena reached back and squeezed Caroline's knee as Evanna began driving towards the Salvatore house,"I'm sorry, Care."

"He just couldn't handle it."

Meredith glanced out the window and frowned,"Uh, Evanna? School's the other way."

"I know." Evanna said, turning the corner towards the road that led to the Boarding House,"I have to meet a lawyer."

"Oh, God, what did you do?" Caroline asked.

Evanna shook her head,"Nothing. Thanks for having faith in me."

"Stefan and Damon are signing over the house to her until this whole Klaus thing is over. Evanna's going to stay there so she can control who gets in."

"Like a safe house." Meredith stated.

"Exactly." Evanna chirped,"So, we _have_ to have lots of girly sleepovers - Damon told me I couldn't do that."

"You love riling him up." Caroline laughed as the brunette shrugged, pulling into the driveway.

"It's funny."

* * *

The lawyer arrived soon after they did, and Stefan, Damon and Caroline waited outside.

"Please sign here... and here." The man smiled as Evanna took the pen and complied.

The lawyer grinned at her,"There! All done."

Meredith opened the front door for him as Evanna smiled sweetly,"Thank you, Mr. Henry. Caroline, get in here." She walked away from the door and the brothers tried to walk in, only to hit the invisible barrier.

"Oh, sorry, I completely forgot." Evanna bit her lip sheepishly,"Stefan, would you like to come in?"

"I would love to. Thank you." He grinned, walking inside.

He wrapped his arms around Elena as Evanna tilted her head at Damon, who was still outside.

"What are we? Twelve?"

"One of us is." Evanna responded,"If I let you in, do you promise to obey the owner of this house?"

"No."

"Seriously, Damon. My way. You promised. I call the shots. No lies, no secret agendas. Remember?"

"Yes, Evanna. Sure."

Evanna smiled,"Then please, come in."

Damon glared as he walked inside, bypassing his brother for the liquor cabinet. Stefan chuckled quietly as he passed, earning a nudge from Damon.

"Shut it."

Caroline glanced at her watch,"Okay, time to go!"

The girls began moving as the brothers frowned.

"Go?" Stefan echoed,"Go where?"

"To school..." Evanna answered simply.

"Eh, no." Damon stepped up,"We didn't create a safe house for you to leave it."

"Yeah, guys, Klaus is out there." Stefan agreed,"We know that."

Evanna sighed,"Right. But where? No one knows. Look, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. And I'll be able to sleep at night knowing that I'll be safe here, but I'm not going to be a prisoner."

"Your way, Evanna." Damon commented, making her roll her eyes.

"Don't worry, if he shows, I can take him. Or, at least fend him off. Besides, I've got the girls and Alaric, school is a public place - a public place we're going to be late for."

Evanna turned and walked out the door, being followed by the girls. Damon stared at Stefan pointedly, and the youngest brother followed.

"Wait, I'm coming too."

* * *

They all took their seats in Alaric's classroom as soon as they arrived.

Elena plucked a poster for the decade dance off the wall and waved it in front of Stefan. He shook his head and she pouted, turning and waving down Evanna. Evanna looked away from the window and surveyed the colourful poster. Elena raised her eyebrows in anticipation, and Evanna eventually nodded. Elena gave Stefan a triumphant grin and turned her attention to the front when Alaric walked in. Evanna noticed something different with him but shook it off.

"Hello, class. What are we learning today?"

A girl in the front, Dana, raised her hand,"With the decade dance tonight, we've been covering the sixties all week."

Alaric flipped a whiteboard marker in his hands,"Right. The sixties."

He glanced towards the window and spotted Evanna. They engaged in a stare down for a few seconds, and Evanna narrowed her eyes. Something was up with him.

"The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but... Actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the... we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."

Evanna laughed silently,"Watergate was in the seventies, Rick."

All eyes turned to her, looking at her weirdly. Her friends stared at her amused, as she shifted awkwardly.

"I mean Mr. Saltzman."

"Right. It all kind of mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies. Thank you, Evanna."

* * *

Evanna smiled when she saw Matt kiss Caroline and turned to Jeremy who was beside her in the busy cafeteria.

"Did you tell Elena about the warning?"

"Yes, and Stefan and Damon too, and they're not worrying about it. I told you to forget it."

"Why did they _warn _you?"

"To keep me from doing it."

"Would they keep Sheila from doing it?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to risk it. I'm not letting her go to her death. We'll figure something out."

Jeremy nodded and relented, going off to find his friends as Evanna joined the girls (and Stefan and Matt) at the lunch table.

"What's up with him?" Meredith asked, watching Jeremy slide in with his friends.

"I told him he'd have to dress up for the dance and he got uptight."

"What are you gonna wear?" Caroline asked excitedly.

"I don't know. My Grams still has some of my mom's old clothes." Evanna laughed,"Can't wait to go through _that_ box."

"You've never asked what your mom was like when she was your age?" Matt chuckled.

Evanna scrunched up her face,"I didn't want to know. I'll keep the image I have of my mother, thank you very much."

"Are you bringing a date?" Elena asked as Dana walked over, stopping their conversation.

"Hey, Evanna, there you are. Okay, this is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight."

Caroline smirked,"It's not like she has a boyfriend..."

"Well," Dana began,"You could at least meet him. He'll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus."

Everyone but Matt froze as Evanna swallowed thickly,"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"His name's Klaus. I know the name's stupid, but I swear he's hot."

Evanna's eyes remained on Dana as everyone else began looking around for Klaus.

"Is he still here?" Stefan asked, returning his focus to Dana.

"I don't know."

Stefan looked in her eyes,"She's being compelled."

Dana smiled, and everyone realized how dead her eyes looked,"But he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance. How cute is that?"

Elena wrapped her fingers around Evanna's upper arm and pulled her up.

"Time to go."

* * *

Evanna sat in the living room of the Salvatore house, staring at her lap as everyone talked around her.

"So we go to the dance, we find him." Damon began, quickly being intercepted by Stefan.

"Really? How are we going to do that? We don't even know what he looks like."

"Something tells me he's not going to be 16 and pimply, brother."

"He could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at school."

Damon shrugged at his brother, turning to the girls,"Guess it's not as safe as you girls thought."

Elena, Meredith and Caroline rolled their eyes, as Evanna sighed. The sudden appearance had caught her off guard.

Someone knocked on the door, and Evanna stood up to get it,"Alaric, come in."

He stepped over the threshold and smiled to himself,"Sorry I'm late."

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move." Damon said to him, and Alaric nodded.

"Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack?" Elena questioned the room.

Evanna raised her hand, almost shyly,"Me. I'm the plan. He doesn't know how strong my powers are."

"It's not going to be that easy. I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around." Alaric said, holding out his hands.

"Rick's got a point. I mean, what if he -" Damon rushed at her, but Evanna raised her hand again and he went flying back.

He tumbled over the side of the couch, and a few seconds after, his head emerged from behind it. Stefan grinned at his brother's disheveled state.

"Well I was impressed."

* * *

Evanna went to her Grams house and explained the situation to her.

They sat in the attic, looking for old clothes.

"Honey, you've been quiet."

Evanna sighed, moving onto another box,"All this time we've known about Klaus, I forgot to actually prepare myself for when he came. I mean, sure, my powers are stronger now than they've ever been but ... I'm still scared."

Sheila pulled her into a hug as Evanna sighed,"I don't want to be scared."

"Love, if anyone has the right to be scared, it's you. You're still a girl. This is too much for anyone."

Evanna pulled out of the hug and smiled,"I can't be scared if I'm gonna win tonight."

She peered into another box and her mouth fell open,"Grams, my mom was born in 1967, she would have been three by the beginning of the seventies."

"Yes."

"Then who's is this?!" Evanna exclaimed pulling out a short, retro disco hippie dress from the sixties.

"Ah, the early sixties." Sheila smiled,"I wore that in sixty-one. I was seventeen."

"You wore this?"

"How'd you think I bagged your grandfather? We met at a disco."

"Oh, my God, you went to a disco." Evanna laughed,"Please don't tell me you had a weave."

"No."

"Oh, thank God."

"I had Grant Jr. three years later. Then, of course, Thomas in '66."

"Monica in '69 and Clara in '75." Evanna finished with a smile.

"Exactly. I think I still have the shoes."

Evanna's mouth dropped open when Sheila pulled out high-heeled white go-go boots. She stared at her grandmother for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

"I am so wearing these!"

* * *

"Look at you!" Jeremy laughed as Evanna arrived.

Meredith's mouth dropped like Evanna's had earlier in the day,"Woah, your mom was way too young to wear _that_."

Evanna smirked,"It was my grandmother's."

"No!" Jeremy gasped.

Evanna squeaked with laughter and nodded,"I didn't stop laughing for like ten minutes."

"Oh! I see Jackie-O and JFK!" Meredith exclaimed, pointing to Caroline and Matt,"I'll be back."

Jeremy looked down at Evanna,"You ready for this?"

"Think so."

Jeremy slipped the Gilbert ring off his finger,"I want you to wear this."

"It won't work on me."

"But it was made by witches."

"To protect the wearer _from _the supernatural. Wearing it won't help, and I'd feel a lot better knowing you had it." Evanna squeezed his hand,"I'll be okay. Promise. Besides, I'm the older one and you have to listen to me."

Jeremy chuckled and hugged her. Over his shoulder, Evanna saw Damon walking by.

"Evenin'." He smirked as Evanna let go of Jeremy.

"Damon..." She greeted.

Stefan and Elena joined them and Elena pulled Evanna into a hug.

"Do I wanna know where you found that?"

Evanna laughed again,"Heh, it was Sheila's."

"I will never look at her the same again." Elena stated with a smile.

"You guys ready to go?" Stefan asked.

All eyes turned to Evanna and she nodded.

"Let's party."

* * *

They walked inside and Evanna immediately looked around.

"I know everyone here."

"Maybe he hasn't shown yet." Jeremy shrugged.

The music stopped and Dana stepped onto the stage.

"Thanks for being here, everybody. We have a special shout-out tonight. This is for Evanna - from Klaus."

'Dedicated To The One I Love' by The Mamas & The Papas began playing over the speakers and Evanna turned around to face her friends.

"That was a lame, cheap shot. He's just trying to bait us."

Damon shrugged it off.

"He might have compelled her to do this earlier on." Elena said.

"Okay, you're probably right." Evanna nodded,"What do we do until he shows?"

"It's a party, people." Damon reminded them,"Blend. Let him come to us."

"Good idea." Elena agreed, grabbing Stefan's arm and dragging him to the dance floor.

"I'm not really in the dancing mood."

"Too bad." The doppelganger grinned.

Evanna smiled and the group dispersed.

Damon headed over to talk to Alaric.

"Special dedication, huh?" The history teacher snorted,"This guy's a little twisted."

"I'm not impressed. Let me know if you see anything out of whack."

* * *

Evanna had skillfully managed to avoid the dance-floor, but when Matt and Caroline walked in the door, Meredith behind them, Evanna slipped up beside Stefan and Elena.

"Caroline and Meredith are here; they don't know what's going on."

Stefan shared a look with Damon over their heads, and led Elena away,"We've got it."

Evanna nodded and watched them go before feeling a hand slip into hers and pull her back.

She fell into Damon's arms as he smiled sweetly down at her,"How you doin'?"

"Um, freaking out a bit. You?" She asked as they began to dance.

"Cool as a cucumber. Come on, remember the last decade dance? The vampires were all, 'rahh!' And you were all, 'aahh!'"

Evanna ran her hands over her face in embarrassment,"Right. And we won."

Damon nodded and pulled her to him again,"Yes, we did."

He spun her out and rolled her back as she grinned, impressed,"You're good at this."

His lips came close to her ear as he smirked,"I've got moves you've never seen."

He spun her out again and brought her back to his chest, making her giggle.

Yes, she giggled - like a school girl. And she would never admit it happened.

* * *

Jeremy was out in the empty hallway when a boy from his class, Chad, and two other students came out.

"What's going on, guys?" Jeremy greeted as Chad advanced on him.

"You okay, Gilbert? You don't look so good."

"Dude, seriously? Wrong day, wrong guy."

They began to fight, but it didn't last long as Stefan and Damon got there. One of the boys used a crossbow to shoot a stake at Damon.

He raised an eyebrow and pulled the stick out,"Really?"

"Idiots! Let me guess... Klaus says hi?" Damon asked, grabbing the boy around the throat.

"No, no, no, no, don't kill him. He's compelled."

"So?"

"So, the whole thing's a distraction. Go find the girls."

* * *

"Girls!"

Elena and Evanna stopped their conversation and turned to see Alaric jog up to them, looking alarmed and breathless.

"What's wrong?" Elena frowned.

"He has Jeremy."

"What?"

"What?!" Evanna echoed.

"Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy. Come on."

* * *

They followed Alaric into the school, and when they turned down the second hallway, Evanna was hit with a bad feeling. She set a hand on Elena's arm to stop her.

"Evanna, what is it?"

"Something's not right." Evanna said, setting a hand on her stomach.

She looked up at Alaric,"Where's Jeremy?"

Elena waited for an answer too, and he smiled, quickly beginning to laugh.

"I just had to get away from that dance. The sixties, ugh. Not my decade. I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz."

"Alaric, are you on vervain?" Elena questioned, making his smile widen.

"Now why would you ask me that question, Elena?"

"He's being compelled." Elena told Evanna.

"Nope. Try again."

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"Okay, fine, I'll give you a hint; I am not _Alaric_."

The pieces began clicking in Evanna's head. The bad feelings she'd had about Alaric exploded into one conclusion.

"Klaus..."

He grinned at her,"Surprise!"

"Oh, no. No, it's not possible."

"Just relax, Elena. I have no use for you." He turned to Evanna,"It's good to finally meet you. I've been waiting centuries."

He began walking towards her, and she put up her hand, sending him flying into a trophy case. She grabbed Elena's hand and they began speeding down the hall. They turned the corner towards their lockers, and Evanna slammed the doors closed behind them. They both skidded to a halt when Damon appeared in front of them.

"What happened?"

"Klaus is in Alaric's body." Elena gasped out.

"What?"

"He's possessing him, or something." Evanna elaborated.

Damon glanced at Elena,"Find Stefan. Now."

Elena nodded and ran off as Evanna looked back at Damon.

"Can you kill him?" He asked her, and she shook her head,"He's got some kind of protection spell on him. I can break it, but he's right behind us."

"I'll call your Grams, tell her to break it while you come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"We need to talk."

* * *

Evanna paced outside,"Okay, you and my Grams made a plan for this?"

"Yes."

"Damon, you promised to let me in on these things."

"We came up with it this morning. We didn't think we'd need it."

"Okay, what is this spell?"

"If it's cast now, you'll pass out in forty-five minutes. To anyone else, you'll look and sound dead - your heartbeat, your pulse, your breathing, it'll all be silenced."

"So, essentially, I'll play dead?"

"Well, yeah, but people will fall for it."

"Do you have this spell?"

"Sheila's already casting it."

"So, I'm going to fight him."

"Yes."

"Promise me something?"

"What?"

"Keep Elena away?"

"Sure."

* * *

The hallways of Robert Lee High had never been scarier.

Evanna walked down them slowly, glancing at her watch.

Half an hour before bed time. She pushed the cafeteria door open and walked inside.

"What took you so long?" Klaus grinned, sitting in a chair and twirling a knife in his hand,"Now, do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

Evanna replied by using her powers to break both his wrists.

The knife dropped as Klaus popped them back into place,"The hard way. Got it."

He stood up, and she twisted his arm behind his back without touching him, breaking it.

He groaned,"What? You'd kill your favorite history teacher?"

"It's what Alaric would want. And he'd want you to suffer first."

Evanna said, twisting his ankle so far that she heard it snapped.

"Look at you. Fiesty; I like it. But, I have to ask, is that all you got?"

Evanna shrugged and stared back at him confidently.

"Let's find out."

* * *

Damon walked away from the cafeteria, unable to watch what he'd just led Evanna into.

It was all a ruse, and as long as she didn't die at Klaus's hands in the next twenty-five minutes, everything would be fine by the morning, he told himself.

"There you are." Stefan said as he and Elena ran down the hallway.

"Hey."

"Where's Evanna?"

"Doing what she has to do."

"No, no, no." Elena gasped, putting her hand to her mouth.

Stefan stepped up to Damon,"What did you do? Where is she?"

"Let her do this."

"Damn it, Damon! Where is she?!"

* * *

Evanna heard Elena scream her name and turned, throwing the doors closed so they couldn't enter.

"Evanna, no!" Elena screamed, looking through the glass.

Evanna kept fighting Klaus, but she could feel her body become weak. She glanced at the clock; counting down from ten-three-o. Evanna's body jerked, and she looked at Elena, giving her a small smile - trying to let her know she'd be okay.

Elena didn't receive the message, and screamed as Evanna's body fell to the floor, seemingly dead.

"Elena?! What's going on?" Matt asked, running up.

Klaus huffed and disappeared. He'd be back to find Evanna's body later. Damon appeared then as the lock on the door broke, and they ran inside.

He grabbed Matt and compelled him,"You saw nothing. Go back and dance with your date."

Elena dropped beside her cousin and sobbed into her hair,"Evanna, wake up. Stefan! She's not breathing!"

Stefan's own eyes were welling up as Elena pleaded.

"Give her blood! Do something, please!"

"It's too late, Elena."

Elena rocked Evanna's body in her arms,"No, no, no. Ava, please."

Damon appeared behind them,"Stefan, get Elena out of here."

Stefan nodded solemnly and picked his girlfriend up.

"What do I tell Jeremy? Oh, God, what about her family?"

Damon leaned down and looked at Evanna. He knew she'd wake up, but that didn't stop his chest from tightening in agony as he stared down at her. He brushed a strand of hair from her face, planting a tender kiss on her forehead.

"You better wake up."

* * *

Damon returned home after dropping Evanna's body and Jeremy back at Sheila's.

Elena's sobs could be heard from the driveway, and Stefan's attempts at calming her down were futile.

"What did you do with her?!" The brunette demanded when he walked in the door.

Damon looked at his brother,"Will you please calm her down?"

"Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you."

"Calm down, Elena." Damon told her, but it only proved to upset her more.

"You knew! Didn't you? You knew that if she fought Klaus alone tonight that she'd die!"

"Yes, I knew."

Elena slapped him across the face as fresh tears emerged.

Damon gritted his teeth and turned back to her.

"You need to listen to me, and prepare for what I'm about to say. Evanna had to die. Klaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise. She wasn't prepared for that. And he wasn't going to stop, and we weren't going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to _believe _it."

Stefan frowned at Damon's choice of words and stepped forward.

"What do you mean by that?"

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Sheila's, Evanna gasped and shot up off the couch.

"Ava!" Jeremy exclaimed, sitting beside her.

"What happened?"

Jeremy let out a sigh of relief and beamed, pulling her into a hug. Sheila came out and hugged her too.

Evanna pulled away,"Did anyone get hurt?"

"No." Sheila answered,"Damon said Matt turned up and Klaus disappeared."

"Matt?"

"Damon compelled him into forgetting what he saw." Jeremy explained.

"Poor Matt. Elena! Where's Elena?"

"At Stefan's."

"Who wants to drive?"

* * *

"It was weird." Jeremy said as Sheila drove to the Boarding House,"You were dead."

"But I wasn't actually. My heart never stopped. I'm actually surprised at how well it worked."

Evanna climbed out of the car and took a deep breath, before knocking.

Stefan pulled open the door and gaped at her.

She smiled and waved,"Can I interest you in some carpets?"

Stefan let out an astonished chuckle and pulled her into a hug,"I don't know how, but I'm glad you're alive."

"Love you, too, big brother." Evanna smiled,"Where's Elena?"

"Evanna?"

Evanna gave Elena a small smile, and had the breath knocked out of her when Elena tackled her in a hug.

"You're okay!"

"I'm okay, 'Lena."

"How are you okay?"

"Grams will explain. Where's Damon?"

Stefan pointed upstairs and Evanna excused herself as Sheila began the story.

* * *

"I heard Elena slapped you." Evanna said as Damon walked out of the bathroom.

He seemed startled by her presence, and she realized she'd caught him off guard.

"Klaus thought you were dead. _Her _reaction had to be real."

Evanna smiled,"We did good."

"I'm sensing a 'but'..."

"_But _we have to be more careful. Klaus could have killed anyone while in Alaric's body. We're lucky all he did was compel people."

Damon looked at her,"I don't care about anyone else dying. If it comes down to you or someone else, I'll gladly let whoever it is die. I will always choose you."

Evanna stared at him for a moment. _That's what I'm afraid of, _she thought before nodding,"Goodnight, Damon."

"Goodnight."


	19. Chapter 19

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Hayden: I would love a picture of Damon and Evanna. I would love to see how people picture her. Can't wait to see what you come up with! :)**

* * *

Evanna woke up earlier than she should have the next morning.

Because of the destruction done by her fight with Klaus, the school was closed for summer a week early. They didn't have school again until the end of August.

Evanna got dressed and headed downstairs, descending into the cellar. She bit the bottom of her lip and stared at Elijah's body before reaching down and pulling the dagger out. Elijah took a deep breath as he shot up, his body contorting painfully.

"Elijah!"

"I can't - I can't breathe! What's happening to me?" He stood up and rushed to the cellar door before doubling over in pain. Evanna followed and held him up.

"I can't... I can't be in this house."

"You're not invited in." She realized.

"Get me out of here."

She helped him out and he stepped outside into the fresh air. He tried to walk back in but the barrier stopped him.

"What happened?"

"Ssh!" Evanna put a finger to her lips and pointed up,"I'll tell you. Not here. Can I trust you?"

He whispered back,"Can I trust you?"

Evanna handed him the dagger as a sign he could.

* * *

Elena woke up in Stefan's arms and smiled,"Morning."

"Good morning."

Elena glanced at the clock and frowned,"It's past ten. Evanna should be up by now."

"I can't hear her."

They bolted up and ran into Evanna's room, where they found the bed empty and made.

"Where could she have gone?" They both ran downstairs, where Damon had just said goodbye to Andie.

"Have you seen Evanna?"

"No, isn't she still asleep?" Damon asked, blue eyes widening.

He pulled out his phone and called her, reaching her voice mail,"Evanna, it's Damon. Where have you run off to?"

Stefan rolled his eyes at Damon's accusing tone of voice and stared at the ceiling. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Did either of you go down to the basement?"

"No." Elena answered as Damon shrugged behind her.

Both vampires sped down to the basement where they found an empty cellar.

Damon groaned.

"No, she didn't."

* * *

Evanna pulled her car into park and looked at Elijah, who was drinking a blood bag.

He'd regained some of his color already.

"You look better." She said.

"Where did you get the dagger?"

"I'll tell you everything. But we have to work together, Elijah. I need your word."

"Your ability to make demands has long passed."

"No demands. I'm offering you my help. And in return, I want yours."

"And why should I even consider this?"

"The same reason that you haven't killed me. You need my help to kill Klaus. And I need you. I can't risk what happened last night happening again."

Evanna's phone began ringing and she took it off the dashboard, reading Damon's caller ID.

"Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Where's Elijah?"

"Right here."

"Where _is_ here?"

"Here is here. Elijah and I need to talk."

"Listen to me, he can't be trusted. He'll use you to get to Klaus."

"Elijah is a noble man, Damon. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. He knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I've proven myself."

"...Have you gone insane?"

"Goodbye, Damon." Evanna hung up and handed her phone to Elijah, who slipped it in his pocket.

* * *

Damon stared at his phone in shock.

"She hung up on me."

"Where is she?" Elena asked.

"She wouldn't answer." Stefan shook his head,"Although, if anyone can get him to help us kill Klaus, it's her."

"Klaus thinks Evanna is dead." Elena said,"I thought that was our plan."

"Klaus is going to come back for her body," Damon explained,"Or, back for her - he may have figured us out by now. So, we need to find her."

Stefan intercepted his brother at the front door,"No, you need to back off."

"_What?_"

Elena joined them at the door,"Look, we don't like this any more than you do. But we need to trust her. We gotta just let her do her thing."

"That might be your plan. Mine's better."

Stefan grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him back.

"I said back off."

* * *

Evanna undid her seat belt and sighed,"He's here."

Elijah glanced at her sideways,"Klaus is here?"

Evanna nodded slowly,"He's taken over Alaric's body."

"Of course he has. One of his favorite tricks."

"Well, what are his other tricks? What is he going to do next? You're the only one who knows him."

"Yes..." Elijah said,"I do."

Elijah explained the story of how he met Katherine; at a party in England of 1492, which was hosted by Klaus. He promised to tell her the rest, but they needed somewhere more private to speak. He told Evanna to drive to the Lockwood mansion.

Elijah got out and approached the front door as Evanna stood behind him.

"Elijah, Evanna! What are you doing here? What happened?"

"I've had a bit of an incident, Carol. I'm hoping you could help."

"Well, I'm on my way to a meeting, so I -"

Elijah stepped forward and compelled her,"It won't take but a minute of your time."

A smile broke out of Carole's face,"Of course, anything you need."

"Thank you." Elijah responded, stepping inside and motioning for Evanna to follow him.

"Well, first things first. I'm going to need a change of clothing."

"Well, we can try one of my husband's suits. I haven't boxed them up yet." Carole offered him.

"Wonderful."

Carole turned and went upstairs compliantly.

Evanna frowned,"How did you know she was off vervain?"

"'Cause I'm the one who got her off it. Right before you and your friends killed me. Twice. If you'll excuse me. I'll be down in a moment."

* * *

Back at the Salvatore House, Elena answered her phone,"Jenna?"

"Hey, where is everyone? No one's answering their phones."

"I'm at Stefan's, Jeremy's in town and Evanna's ... not here right now. Is everything okay?"

"You guys left me all these weird messages telling me to stay away from Rick. What's going on?"

Elena faltered, and Stefan took the phone,"It's really hard to explain over the phone, but, um, we were hoping that you could stay on campus for a little while longer."

"That's kinda hard to do from my kitchen."

"Wait, you're home?"

"Yeah. What's going on? Where's Elena? I'm supposed to meet Rick at the grill for lunch, to talk."

"Jenna, listen to me carefully. Whatever you do, do not meet Alaric at the grill. Elena and I are going to come over right now and I'll explain everything."

Stefan hung up and handed Elena her phone as she hurried upstairs to get her jacket.

"Wow, I'd love to lend you a hand, but you wouldn't want me doing anything stupid." Damon chimed in, pouring himself a drink.

"It's seriously going to be like this?"

"You and your girlfriend are calling the shots. I'm just backing off, Stefan."

* * *

Evanna sat across from Elijah on the large sofas in Mayor Lockwood's office.

"So I assume that the Martin witches are no longer with us?"

"No," Evanna shook her head,"I'm sorry."

"And Katerina? She would have been released from my compulsion when I died."

"Klaus took her. We think that she may be dead."

"I doubt that. Not Klaus' style. Death would be too easy for her after what she did."

"I don't understand. You say that you want Klaus dead, but you still made Katherine pay for betraying him."

"I have my own reasons for wanting Katerina to pay. There was a time... I'd have done anything for Klaus."

* * *

Damon and Andie knocked on Alaric's apartment door, a vial of vervain in Damon's hand.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Andie confessed, making Damon shrug,"Investigative journalism... we're investigating."

"Alaric, are you home? Andie - Starr, Jenna's friend." Andie called through the door, knocking once more.

Damon reached down and broke the lock, pushing open the door. Katherine appeared.

"Thank God."

"Wow! You were right. She looks exactly like Elena."

Damon pursed his lips,"Yep. Thought you might be dead."

"Unfortunately not."

* * *

Evanna sat back in the chair, processing the next bit of the story.

"Yes. Klaus is my brother." Elijah revealed.

"I heard that. I'm still processing."

"Yes, I'm a little behind on the times, but I believe the term you're searching for is 'O.M.G.'."

* * *

Elena turned the key and opened her front door, walking inside with Stefan beside her.

"Hey, Jenna. Thank you so much for not going to the grill."

Elena smiled as the redhead walked into the hallway.

"Um, guys..."

"No, listen; we can explain..." Elena trailed off, raising her eyes to see the house guest.

Klaus (still in Alaric's body) leaned against the archway and smiled at them.

"Hi, kids. How's it going?"

* * *

Elijah had decided he wanted to go for a walk, so they were strolling down the large expanse of grass that surrounded the Lockwood estate.

Evanna's head was finally wrapping around the whole Klaus being Elijah's brother thing, but apparently, the surprises didn't end there.

"There's a whole _family _of Originals?"

"My father was a wealthy land owner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children." Elijah nodded, stopping to admire the roses (literally).

"So your parents were human?"

"Our whole family was. Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Evanna. Just know... We're the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original family, and from us all vampires were created."

"Right, yeah, I got that. What's catching me is that Klaus is your brother, yet you want him dead?"

Elijah pursed his lips, shrugging nonchalantly,"Sibling rivalry?"

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Katherine asked, leaning against the doorway.

"We're here to rescue you." Andie answered chirpily.

Damon shook his head,"_No_, we are here to see if she deserves to be rescued."

"Right."

Damon turned back to Katherine,"I figured you still might be kicking. Alari-Klaus was blending way too easily. Figured he probably had some coaching."

He produced a vial from his pocket and waved it in front of her.

"Is that...?"

"Vervain? Your salvation?"

"It's not going to undo anything."

Damon shrugged,"There's always a loophole. Did he tell you to stay in this apartment until he said it was okay to leave?"

Katherine stayed silent, and Damon realized it wasn't voluntary.

"You can't say. Did he tell you to do absolutely everything he says until the end of time?"

"No."

Damon grinned, feeling accomplished,"There's your loophole. Drink this; it'll save you from any future compulsion."

Katherine reached for the vervain, but Damon pulled it back,"Answer one question first; you double-crossed us with Isobel, why?"

"I didn't think you could stand a chance against Klaus, so I was looking out for myself."

"And where did that get you? Here." Damon tossed her the vial,"Be careful with that. If he finds out you have it, you'll never get out of here. You owe me, and I will collect."

Andie watched Damon walk away from the door and turned back to Katherine, who was coughing down the vervain.

"Nice to meet you."

* * *

The shiny silver metal of the steak-knife was making Elena considerably more nervous as the minutes ticked by.

Alari-Klaus was chopping some food, clearly enjoying the situation, and Jenna was just confused.

"You know, I find chopping... calming. The feel of the blade in the hand."

Jenna glanced at her boyfriend,"I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what the hell's going on."

"Well, would you guys like to tell her, or should I?"

"Tell me what?"

"Do you believe in vampires, Jenna? No?" Alari-Klaus began to chuckle,"Well, who does, right? But believe it or not, they do have a place in our history. And as a history teacher, I find them fascinating."

"Why are we talking about this?"

"Well, you've been angry with me for keeping secrets, and this is one of my secrets. I'm ... " Stefan and Elena tensed,"... obsessed with vampires. There. I said it."

Jenna glared,"You're joking, right?"

"Not at all. How about you, _Stefan_? Are you a fan of vampires?"

"In literature. Bram Stoker. It's dense, but I appreciate it." Stefan replied smoothly, acting calmer than either he or his girlfriend felt.

"Hmm. Did you know that vampires are the oldest creatures of the night? Except for werewolves, of course."

"Werewolves. Werewolves. Now I know you're joking." Jenna shook her head, rolling her eyes at the same time.

"You know, I've read that there's an Aztec curse on both species that keeps werewolves slaves to the Moon and vampires bound by the Sun. Isn't that right, you two? You know, they say these creatures would do anything to have this curse broken and that they wouldn't care who they had to kill to do it."

* * *

"So, as you've seen, nothing can kill an Original." Elijah began as they stopped by a fountain.

"Not Sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree. A tree my family made sure burned."

"That's where the white ash for the dagger comes from."

"Yes. The witches won't allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain the balance."

"So the Sun can't kill an Original. Why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the Sun and Moon curse?"

"Right. The curse of the Sun and the Moon. It's all so... Biblical-sounding, don't you think?"

Elijah smiled, and Evanna frowned.

"What am I missing?"

Elijah went on to tell her of a simple moment shared with his brother, and by the end of it, Evanna was growing confused again.

"Okay, you're losing me again. So Klaus drew the Aztec sketches about the curse?"

"Roman scrolls, African tribal etchings, and any other culture or continent we felt like planting in it."

"But why?"

"Easiest way to discover the existence of the electi or to get your hands on some long, lost moon stone is to have every single member of two warring species on the lookout."

"So it's not Aztec at all?"

"The curse of the Sun and the Moon... is fake. It doesn't exist."

"What?!"

* * *

"Oh, I know this all sounds so crazy, but... vampires are real. Would you care for some more wine?" Alari-Klaus bent down to pick up a bottle, and that's when Jenna decided she'd had enough.

"Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know what it is you're trying to do or why you're saying these things, but…"

"Jenna..."

"I said get out!"

Stefan stepped forward as a small grin spread across Alari-Klaus's face.

"You heard her."

"I'm afraid I don't want to."

"Fine." Jenna sighed,"Then I'll leave."

Alari-Klaus picked up the knife he'd had and grabbed her,"You're not going anywhere."

Stefan caught him and pushed him against a wall as Elena gripped Jenna's arm.

"Stefan!"

"Elena, get out of here now!"

"You can't kill me, Stefan..." Alari-Klaus teased.

"Watch me!"

"Stefan!" Jenna exclaimed as Alari-Klaus continued,"I may not have a witch protecting me today, but if you kill this body, what's to stop me from choosing Jenna as my next one?"

"Jenna, Elena, go!"

Jenna's mouth fell open as her mind whirled,"But you're… you…"

Stefan turned around to face Jenna, vamped-out,"I said go!"

"Kill me." Alari-Klaus dared,"Just remind Evanna how easy it will be for me to get my revenge if she tries to stop me from breaking this curse."

Stefan and Klaus fought with vampire speed, and Elena used that oppertunity to rush Jenna out of the house, into the car and down the street. The boarding house seemed to be the only safe haven that came to mind.

* * *

"Klaus and I faked the Sun and Moon curse dating back over a thousand years."

Evanna frowned at Elijah,"But if there's no curse..."

"No, there's a curse. Just not that one. The real one's much worse. It's a curse placed on Klaus."

"What are you talking about?"

"Klaus has been trying to break it for the last thousand years. And you are his only hope."

Evanna's phone had began to vibrate in Elijah's pocket a few seconds before, but it's incessant buzzing eventually got to Elijah. He reached into his pocket and took it out, stretching his hand out to her,"Answer it, please."

"Elena? Woah, woah, woah... calm down; breathing is good, remember? What? No, no, no. Okay, I'll be there soon." Evanna lowered her phone and hung up,"Klaus went after Jenna. I have to go to her."

"I'm afraid that wasn't part of today's arrangement."

"She's my family, Elijah. I have to. I'll be back. You have my word."

"That doesn't mean anything to me until you live up to it."

Despite everything, she still managed to give him a small smile.

"Thank you."

* * *

Evanna threw open the door to the boarding house and stepped inside.

Apparently, even her Grams had been called to place a safety shield on the house for good measure. Sheila was comforting Elena when Evanna walked inside.

"How's Jenna?"

"I haven't been in to see her yet." Elena admitted,"I was waiting for you."

"Okay, where's Stefan?"

"On his way." Sheila answered,"Klaus fled the house."

Evanna nodded and headed towards the library, Elena behind her. The three females walked inside and looked sadly at the redhead. Sheila sat in an armchair, Elena sat beside Jenna and Evanna perched on the coffee table in front of her.

"Hey..." She prodded gently,"You okay?"

"No."

Elena sighed,"We're so sorry. We never meant for any of this to happen."

"When I was little, Miranda used to tell me bedtime stories. Stories about vampires. I never thought that what she said could be true."

"It is true, Jenna." Evanna took over,"We should have told you. We thought that if you didn't know, you'd be safe. But then things got so out of control and everything we had done to keep you out of it, it just blew up in our faces."

Jenna finally looked away from the glass in her hand,"Who else knows? Jeremy?"

Evanna nodded.

"John?"

Elena nodded,"We were trying to protect you."

"Protect me."

"Jenna, we will tell you everything." Evanna promised.

"No, _I'm_ supposed to be protecting Jeremy and you two."

"Jen, there's nothing that you could have done. There's so much more to it…" Evanna trailed off, glancing at her Grams helplessly.

Sheila slid in beside Evanna.

"Jenna, it'll all be okay."

"No, this is - this is so… I don't know how… it's…" The tears that had been brimming slipped down Jenna's face and Elena pulled her into a hug.

"I know, hey."

"Why didn't you tell me?! I'm scared."

Evanna slotted herself into the spot on Jenna's other side and embraced her too.

They continued to comfort Jenna, and eventually she calmed down.

Stefan brought in tea, which probably helped.

Evanna glanced at her watch and sighed,"I'm sorry, I should get back."

"Back to where?" Sheila asked, hurrying after her.

Evanna turned around on her heel in the hallway as her grandmother, Jenna, Elena and Stefan followed her. Damon came out, Andie trailing behind him and stood in front of her. Evanna sighed under the weight of their questioning stares.

"Good question; back to where?" Damon repeated.

Evanna hesitated; if she was simply answering the group they'd understand a little. Damon, however... well, she just hoped he'd had a personality transplant while she'd been gone.

"To Elijah." She answered finally, and firmly, turning to face him this time.

"No."

"I'm going, Damon." She said, moving passed him. He grabbed her arm and kept her in place.

"If you so much as try and take a step out of this house..."

"Damon, easy."

"Stay out of this, Andie."

Elena stepped foward,"Damon, let her go."

"Are you kidding me? We just got her back."

Stefan came up beside them and grabbed Damon's arm, pulling him away from Evanna.

"You heard Elena. Let her go."

Damon pursed his lips, his blue eyes clouding dangerously.

"That's twice today you've stood in my way. I wouldn't try a third."

* * *

Evanna finally got back to the Lockwood's and rejoined Elijah in the living room.

The sky was an orangey-pink color by this time, and she quickly shrugged off her jacket.

"Welcome back."

"Tell me. What is Klaus' curse?"

Elijah motioned towards the sofa,"Please, sit. My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not my father's son. My mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline. Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and he killed my mother's lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day."

"A war between the species?"

"The vampires... and the werewolves."

"So Klaus' real father was from a werewolf bloodline? So, what? Klaus is a hybrid?"

"Yes. Both vampire and werewolf. A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore the witches, the servants of nature - no offense," Evanna shrugged it off, so Elijah returned to his explanation,"Saw to it that my brother's werewolf side would become dormant."

"That's the curse that Klaus wants to break?"

"He wants to trigger that part of him that's a werewolf. If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race. Endangering not just vampires, but everyone."

"But you helped him?"

"I helped him because I loved him. That's changed, now he must die."

"We have the dagger now. We can stop him."

"When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. So you see the conundrum. The dagger does not work."

"What, are you saying that Klaus can't be killed?"

"There's one way to kill any supernatural species… at the hands of the servants of nature themselves."

"A witch? But that much power can kill a witch."

"The curse must be broken during the full moon. When Klaus is in transition. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable. A witch with enough power... can kill Klaus, and survive."

Evanna considered it; she couldn't do it, she wasn't allowed. But...

"What if I told you that I knew a witch that could channel that much power?"

"Then I would tell you there's one more thing that you should know."

* * *

Evanna was starting to think it was a day _for _twists. She sat forward in the chair,"You found a way to save the life of the electi?"

"Yes, Evanna. I did. But unfortunately it didn't work for that poor girl that Klaus mistook for the electi. I believe you already know how that played out. I assume Katherine told you; they were friends."

Evanna narrowed her eyes,"You cared for Katherine, didn't you?"

"It's a common mistake, I'm told. And it's one I won't make again. Now, this witch... can we meet with her?"

* * *

Sheila had just returned home when the doorbell rang behind her.

Evanna stood beside Elijah, looking innocent.

"Heya, Grams. Mind if we talk?"

Sheila's eyes flashed from her granddaughter, to Elijah, and back to Evanna,"Come in."

* * *

Elijah graciously accepted the cup of tea Sheila offered as they sat in the sun room.

"So, if I was to harness the power of the dead witches, I could stop Klaus."

"And come to no harm, yes." Elijah nodded.

Evanna bit her lip and turned to her grandmother,"I'd do it myself, but -"

"Honey, it's fine. I'll do it. Anything to protect you."

"Thanks, Grams." Evanna smiled,"So, we have a plan. Who wants to tell everyone else?"

* * *

Stefan watched Andie walk out and joined his brother in the living room.

Elena and Jenna headed in the opposite direction of Stefan, walking into the kitchen and sharing a look.

Damon had been ... testy since Evanna left, and they didn't want to know what Stefan was going to say to him.

"Tired of your little play thing already?"

"Don't start with me, Stefan. She's just my distraction."

"She's a person. You're victimizing her." The younger brother protested, crossing her arms.

"You should be thankful she's here. She keeps me from going for what I really want." Damon said, downing a full glass of bourbon.

"You're right; thank you for being in love with Evanna." Stefan remarked sarcastically.

"_And _there it is."

"There it is. You know, you can be in love with Evanna all you want... If it means that you'll protect her. But there's one thing you'll never have." Stefan stepped forward.

"What's that?"

"Her respect."

It all erupted into chaos then. Damon punched Stefan so hard that he flew back into the bookshelf. Elena ran in and gasped, instinctively moving towards her boyfriend, but Jenna stopped her. It could get messy, even she knew that.

Stefan got up and rushed at his brother, both grabbing each other's shoulders. Elena was about to act when suddenly, both brothers were thrown away from each other.

Eyes turned to see Elijah and Sheila behind Evanna, who's hand was held out. She glanced dangerously between Damon and Stefan.

"Do I need to ground you both? 'Cause I will."

Damon didn't hesitate, jumping back onto his feet.

"Now you invited him in?"

"Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal."

"_Really?"_

"None of you will come to harm at my hands. I only ask for one thing in return."

Damon's eyes narrowed,"What?"

"An apology."

"A what?"

Stefan stepped forward,"I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Evanna."

"I understand."

Evanna turned to look at Damon and sighed,"The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon. Grams will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I'd find another way. And I did."

"Is that true?"

Elijah nodded at Damon,"It is."

Damon's eyes landed on Evanna again,"And you're trusting him?"

"Yes."

"You can all go the hell."

With that, Damon left. Evanna sighed, and Stefan rounded back to Elijah.

"He's angry at me right now."

Elijah shrugged.

"He'll come around."

* * *

It was decided that Jenna, Elena and Jeremy would stay at the Boarding House.

Evanna even convinced Sheila to stay; she'd feel better knowing her Grams was safe.

"A lot of crap went down today." Jeremy said, flopping down on Evanna's bed in the boarding house.

Besides Damon's, there was six other bedrooms in the house. Stefan and Elena roomed together, leaving Jeremy, Jenna and Sheila to pick any one they liked. Evanna already had one from the amount of times she'd stayed over there, right across the hall from Damon's.

"Sorry I wasn't there."

Evanna frowned, tying her hair into a messy bun in the mirror,"Where were you all day?"

"Working..."

"You have a job?!"

"Sh! It's a fairly new thing. I'm saving up for a car."

"Where are you working?"

"The Grill. Matt hooked me up."

"Aw, little Jer-bear has a job. He's all grown up!"

"I thought we agreed that you'd never call me that again."

Evanna grinned at his reflection,"In public."

"Great..."


	20. Chapter 20

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Damon must not have come home until late, as the next time she saw him was during a conversation with Stefan, Elena and Elijah the next morning.

Jenna and Sheila were outside in the back, and Jeremy had to go to work.

"Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse." Elijah stated.

"You said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake? That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus."

"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it... He'll be a true hybrid."

Damon appeared at the doorway, folding his arms,"Then why are we letting him break the curse? We can kill him today. With Sheila."

"Damon..." Stefan warned, watching Evanna tense up.

He hated to admit, but when she used her powers on him the day before, it had hurt.

"No," Elena shook her head,"She'll die."

"I'll write her a great eulogy."

Evanna stared at him,"Not an option."

Stefan turned back to Elijah,"Alright, how do we break this curse?"

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."

"The moonstone." Stefan stated.

"A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."

"And where do I fit into it?" Evanna questioned.

"The final part of the ritual." Elijah answered, taking a wooden box from the shelf,"Klaus must drink the blood of the electi... to the point of your death."

Stefan grabbed Elena's hand as her mouth fell open in a silent gasp. Damon glanced at Evanna, who remained perfectly calm, but her hammering heartbeat gave her away.

Elijah opened the box and took a jar from it as Evanna leaned forward,"That's where you come in?"

"This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Cynthia - the fake electi. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."

"So ... I'll be dead?"

"And then you won't." Elijah finished.

Evanna sat back; this would be the first time she actually _died_.

"That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" Damon asked in disbelief.

He faced Evanna,"You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"

"Those rings only work on humans. Odds are that Evanna wearing it won't help."

"I'll take those odds over your elixir. What if it doesn't work, Evanna?"

"Then I guess I'll just be dead."

Damon stared at her, before turning and walking out.

Evanna sighed quietly to herself, even though it had been caught, and turned back around,"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?"

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will."

Evanna flopped down into the couch and sighed,"You'd think he'd understand why I'm willing to do this."

"Why are you?"

"I'm the key to breaking the curse. Klaus is here because of me. If I don't stop him, then he's going to hurt people. It's that simple."

"You know, there's a possibility this elixir won't work. I don't want to mislead you."

Evanna nodded,"I know the chance I'm taking."

* * *

"Jenna! Jenna!" They heard from the hallway, and each of them bolted into the hallway.

Jenna gripped the crossbow firmly as she aimed it at Alaric. Sheila and Damon joined them.

"Get out." Jenna ordered.

"Jenna, put the cross-bow down, okay? It's me."

"Prove it."

"Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to..."

Evanna clamped her hands over her ears as a look of horror passed over Elena.

"Ew! Ew! Ew!" Evanna chanted,"Scary mental place! Scary mental place!"

"Poor Jeremy!" Elena exclaimed, making Evanna giggle.

Jenna flushed, and lowered the crossbow,"Okay, it's him."

Stefan stepped forward, amused by the two Gilbert girls,"Why did Klaus let you go?"

All joking was pushed aside when Alaric spoke again.

"He wanted me to deliver a message. The sacrifice happens tonight."

* * *

Damon disappeared once again, and everyone crowded around Alaric in the living room.

"So you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan asked him.

"No. It's like I blacked out and woke up 3 days later. Katherine was there."

"She's under compulsion. Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can." Stefan nodded.

Evanna glanced around,"Where _is _Damon?"

Sheila shrugged,"I saw him go upstairs."

Evanna got up and walked out. Alaric turned back.

"So, what else did I do?"

* * *

Evanna found Damon in his bedroom, staring out of the large Victorian window.

"You disappeared."

"I don't want to hear anymore."

"I need you to understand why I'm doing this."

"Why? Clearly doesn't matter what I think."

"I'll be fine, Damon. I'll drink the elixir, Grams will kill Klaus and then all of this will finally be over."

"If it works."

"It will work."

Damon turned and advanced towards her,"You think it will work. You _want_ it to work. Why am I the only one who's convinced it won't? There _has_ to be another way."

"There isn't."

"And you're going to die, Evanna."

"And then I'll come back to life."

"That is not a risk I'm willing to take."

Evanna grabbed his hand in hers,"But I _am_. It's my life, Damon. My choice."

"I can't lose you." He admitted.

"You won't." Evanna let go of his hand and headed for the door.

Damon intercepted her easily and she jumped.

"There is another way."

She frowned,"What are you...?"

Veins appeared under his eyes and they bled black. His fangs elongated, and he bit into his wrist. Something was telling her to use her powers on him, but she couldn't think straight, the shock numbing her.

"Damon, no!"

Damon grabbed the back of her head with one hand and pressed his bleeding wrist to her mouth. Evanna had no choice but to swallow the blood even as she tried to remove Damon's hand from her head.

Stefan arrived and tackled Damon away from her.

Evanna would have fallen down, but Sheila grabbed onto her and held her up. Evanna was suddenly aware of her tears and wiped them away hastily. Elena supported her other side.

"What did you do?! Huh? What did you do?!" Stefan demanded angrily, looking back at Evanna.

"I saved her life." Damon looked at Evanna,"You're so bent on dying, at least this way I know you'll come back."

"As a vampire!" Stefan exclaimed roughly,"She'll come back as a vampire!"

"It's better than nothing else."

"How could you, of all people, take that choice away from her?"

Evanna suddenly coughed, drawing attention back to her.

"Go ahead," Damon said to her,"Wish me an eternity of misery. Believe me, you'll get over it."

Stefan rushed at him and pushed him down. Damon took a wooden leg from the table he'd crashed into and plunged it into Stefan's stomach as he lunged at him again.

"Stefan!" Elena screamed, running for him.

Jenna and Alaric arrived then.

"What the hell's going on?!" Alaric yelled.

Evanna motioned towards Damon,"Get him out of here!"

Alaric reached out for Damon, but he pushed his hand away and sped from the room. Alaric stared at Stefan as Sheila pulled a tissue from her pocket and turned Evanna around to wipe off the blood.

"Ok, Jenna," Alaric began, crouching beside Stefan,"downstairs are some blood bags. Go get them now. Go!"

Elena brushed back her boyfriend's hair,"It's okay. It's okay. You're going to be okay."

"Evanna, I'm sorry." Stefan wheezed, looking at her.

Evanna glanced back.

"Sh, it's okay, Stefan."

The words came from her mouth, despite both her head and heart disagreeing.

* * *

"Well, it sounds like you won't be needing this anymore. Feeding her vampire blood rendered it useless. Tell Evanna I'll be back before nightfall. We'll proceed as planned." Elijah stated when Damon walked back in.

"We both know that elixir wouldn't have worked anyway."

"The problem, Damon, you talk a good game but you don't actually know anything. She'll never forgive you. And never for a vampire... It's a very long time."

* * *

Evanna had the left the room as soon as she could.

Despite everything, she didn't want to admit just how much Damon had hurt her. Which was why she was outside, on the porch. The door opened behind her and Elena and Jenna stepped outside. Evanna quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, but didn't look up.

"Hey, you okay?" Elena asked, rubbing her arm.

"Peachy. How's Stefan?"

"Better." Jenna replied,"You wanna tell us how you're really feeling?"

"I'm going to be a vampire this time tomorrow. Wasn't exactly in my life plan; then again, none of this was..."

"It'll be okay." Elena promised,"Stefan can train you, like he did with Caroline."

"Yeah, I guess. Listen, I'm just going to go on a walk, alright?"

"Alone?" Jenna asked,"Is that safe?"

"I'm gonna die tonight anyway. What else could happen?"

* * *

John sighed in relief when the doorbell rang.

He headed over and pulled it open, revealing Sheila.

"Thank God, can you tell me where the rest of my family are?"

"We need to talk."

John paced in the kitchen as Sheila's green eyes followed his every move.

"Damon fed Evanna his blood?! Why would he do that?"

"He thought it was the only way."

John paused,"Thought?"

"I visited the witches. They told me that your ring can help."

"It only works on humans."

"No, _wearing _it only works on humans. There's a loophole. With their help, I can cast the ring's essence into Evanna. It'll protect her for twenty-four hours, but there's a risk involved so I need you to think about it for a while before you decide."

"What is it?"

"The ring protected you from many deaths, but if I lift the spell, I can't guarantee that you'll still be protected - even if they happened in the past."

"But this will protect Evanna?"

"Yes."

"Then cast the spell."

"You have to be sure, it's a risk."

"One I'm willing to take. Cast it."

Sheila took a deep breath,"We need to go back to the witches. I'll call Stefan, let everyone in on the plan."

"I'll get the car ready."

* * *

Damon slipped onto the stool and ordered a drink.

Alaric slotted in beside him and nodded for one too.

"I'll have the same."

"I screwed up."

"Yeah," Alaric nodded,"You did."

"Gentlemen?" A voice said,"Why so glum?"

Damon turned,"Ugh. Klaus, I presume?"

"In the flesh." Klaus looked at Alaric,"Thanks for the loaner, mate."

Damon stood up,"Any reason you stopped by to say hi?"

"I'm told you're the one who fancies my electi. Just thought I'd remind you to not do anything you'll regret."

"Heh. Thanks for the advice. I don't suppose I could talk you into a postponement, by any chance, huh?"

"You are kidding?" Klaus looked at Alaric,"He is kidding, right?"

"No, not really."

"I mean, come on, what's one month in the whole grand scheme of things?"

"Let me be clear... I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight. So if you want to live to see tomorrow, don't screw it up." Klaus left then, leaving Damon in thought.

"You're gonna screw it up, aren't you?" Alaric asked, despite knowing the answer.

"You think if I took his werewolf out of the equation, she might... Get over the fact that I tried to turn her into a vampire?"

"I think it won't matter, because you'll be dead."

"But without the werewolf, he can't perform the ritual tonight, which means I would have bought her one month before the next full moon."

"And you'll still be dead."

"Look, are you gonna help me or not?"

"What do I do?"

* * *

Evanna strolled through the graveyard and stopped at her grandfather's grave.

She hadn't seen Grant in a while, and there was no one she wanted to be with more. She was all out of tears, and just sat silently with her eyes closed. Her phone beeped and she took it out.

_1 new message; Meredith (6:51 PM);_ _Lena filled me in; are you okay? BTW, Caroline called. Tyler's back in town. Text me back, kay?_

Evanna sighed and replied; _I'm fine, I guess. When did Ty get back?_

Evanna slipped her phone into her pocket, said a silent goodbye to her grandfather and stood up. Her phone buzzed again.

_This morning; Carol had a fall. She's okay, though. Want me to pick you up?_

Evanna was about to text back when she felt the air change. Slowly, she turned around and took a deep breath. She knew immediately who she was staring at.

"Klaus."

His smile made the hairs on her neck stand up.

"Hello, love."

* * *

Everything was doing something different; Sheila and John were casting a spell, Jeremy was worried about his family, Elena, Jenna and Stefan were freaking out, Caroline and Tyler were chained to a cave wall, Damon and Alaric were talking to Katherine and Evanna was thinking about her life.

Meredith had guessed that Evanna would go see Grant, and found her phone and vervain necklace on the ground, unleashing a whole new level of worry.

Sheila and John rushed into the boarding house and quickly explained the new situation. Evanna would be safe, and come back as a witch. Except she, Jenna, Damon, Alaric, Caroline and Tyler didn't know that yet.

Katherine and Klaus were in the middle of talking when Damon walked into Alaric's apartment.

"I wasn't aware you'd been invited in." Klaus said, sending a pointed look Katherine's way.

"Wasn't me."

Damon ignored her,"I've come here to tell you that you have to postpone the ritual."

"Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yeah, but that was before I rescued your werewolf and vampire and killed your witch."

Klaus stood up,"Excuse me?"

"And you can kill me for it. I don't care. It was all me."

"Katerina, give us a moment."

Katherine looked at Damon sadly for a moment, before leaving.

"I've heard about you." Klaus began,"The crazy, impulsive vampire in love with Evanna. I knew you would try to stop me. It was a just a guess on when."

Klaus turned a laptop that sat on the counter around, revealing a video of Jules,"The nice thing about werewolves is they tend to travel in packs. Need a closer look?"

"Jules..."

"When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse... You learn a thing or two. First rule... always have a back-up. Back-up werewolf. Back-up witch."

"Back-up vampire."

"Got that covered too."

* * *

When Damon woke up, Katherine was holding an empty blood bag,"Damon!"

"Ah, what happened?"

"He's gone. He went to do the ritual. I'm sorry. I had to. He would have known that I was on vervain if I didn't do it."

"Do what?"

"Klaus. He made me call her to lure her out. He needed another vampire."

"Call who? Katherine, who did you call?!"

* * *

Evanna followed Greta, Klaus's witch, further into the woods.

"Where are going?"

"This way."

"You're Luka's sister, aren't you? I heard about you. He and your father were looking for you."

"Well, they were wasting their time. I wasn't lost." Greta lit a fire everywhere, allowing Evanna to see the figure shaking in the corner.

"Oh, my God! Jenna!" Evanna dropped down beside her,"What are you doing here? Are you hurt?"

"No. Elena called me, and Klaus grabbed me."

"That wasn't Elena," Evanna realized,"It was Katherine." The brunette witch turned to Greta,"Why is Jenna here? He doesn't need a human."

"No, but he needs a vampire."

* * *

"Should have used me." Damon snapped,"Why didn't he use me?"

"He couldn't. Damon, he said you were as good as dead."

"What does that even mean?"

"What _does _that mean?" Katherine caught sight of Damon's forearm,"Damon, what's that?"

Damon glanced down, inspecting the irritated, red skin,"It's a werewolf bite."


	21. Chapter 21

**Vampire Diaries**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So, I wanted to get this up last night, but FF was down, so it's here now! :)  
**

**Other good news; I will be starting Season 3 today, because I finally have a day to myself. Yipee!**

**Be warned, this is perhaps the saddest chapter I have ever written, and I'm not very emotional usually - I'm pretty much like Elena without her humanity, just with a lot less killing and I still have friends.**

**Basically, to cut a long explanation short, I am very sorry if I make someone cry.**

* * *

"Oh, my head." Jenna groaned, her hands in her hair,"What's wrong with me?"

Evanna squeezed her hand gently,"Do you remember what happened?"

"Elena called me. She was so scared. Oh, ah, I should have realized that it wasn't her. The second I walked out of the house, someone grabbed me. A vampire."

"Klaus." Evanna filled in,"It was Klaus."

"He made me drink his blood. And I don't... I don't remember anything after that." Jenna looked around anxiously,"Where are we? What happened?"

"We're at the quarry." Evanna explained softly,"He brought us here."

"Why don't I remember anything?"

"Jenna, do you remember... When I told you how someone becomes a vampire?"

"Yeah, if you die with vampire blood in your system, it's..." Jenna paused, finally catching onto what Evanna was saying,"Oh, god. He killed me."

"Jenna, listen to me. Listen to me; everything's going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here."

"I'm a vampire?" The redhead gasped, her eyes welling with tears.

"Not yet." Greta interjected,"There's just one more step."

She approached them, and Evanna saw the sharp knife she held in her hands. Evanna waved her hand, sending the knife flying towards the nearest tree, where it lodged in the bark. Greta practically snarled, swooping down and grabbing a fistful of Evanna's hair, throwing her backwards with her magic.

Evanna rolled, and landed painfully in the dirt, wincing. Greta waved her hand again, creating a circle of fire around Evanna that she couldn't break through.

"Don't bother trying to get through. My magic is stronger than yours. You're trapped."

Evanna pushed herself up, ignoring the painful twinge coming from her body,"Greta... Please, just - just let her go."

Greta walked calmly over to the tree and grabbed the knife, slicing her wrist as if she was slicing through butter and roughly pushing her wrist into Jenna's face.

"Klaus chose her."

Jenna clamped her lips closed, moving her head to one side, but Greta was forceful,"Drink it."

"Jenna, don't!"

"I can't. I have to."

"Let her go." Evanna yelled,"Hey!"

Jenna slowly lost her battle with her temptation, and sank her teeth into Greta's wrist.

Evanna's hand came up to push her hair back, her eyes glistening,"No! No."

After a few moments, Greta pulled her hand away,"That's enough."

Evanna painfully managed a soft smile Jenna's way,"Jen. It's going to be okay."

Greta flicked her wrist, creating another circle of fire around the terrified redhead.

"Look at me." Evanna urged,"Hey, look at me."

Jenna turned to look at Evanna, ashamed as she reached up to wipe the remaining blood from her chin.

"It's gonna be okay." Evanna repeated"Everything's gonna be okay..."

* * *

Damon rolled the sleeve of his shirt over his elbow, inspecting the bite closely.

Katherine stood over him,"So that's what a werewolf bite looks like..."

"Yep."

"It's not that bad."

Damon stood up, and rolled his sleeve down again,"Will be."

"So that's it?" Katherine set a hand on her hip,"You're just... going to die?"

"Well, that depends. You know anything about a cure?"

She shook her head, and he sighed,"Me, either."

Plucking his jacket from the back of the couch, he slipped it on.

"145 years and no last goodbye?"

"You don't get a goodbye." He replied, turning away from her.

Katherine sped in front of him, setting a hand on his chest,"No. Don't leave mad."

"Us ending up on good terms isn't exactly on my bucket list, Katherine."

Damon attempted to move past her, but she stopped him again, persistently.

"Klaus made me call Jenna to lure her out. There was nothing that I could do. I didn't have a choice."

"That's why I gave you the vervain. So you _had_ a choice."

"It was her or me. I chose her."

"I helped you." Damon said bitterly,"You owed me. Now when Klaus dies, you're going to walk out of here without a scratch and Jenna dies. Somehow you're the only one that wins. How'd that happen?"

The Petrova shrugged,"I didn't let love get in the way."

Damon rolled his eyes, and passed by her, heading for the door.

"Enjoy an eternity alone, Katherine."

Katherine's jaw clenched and she asked,"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to offer myself as a replacement to Klaus."

"He won't take you. He saw your bite, he said that your blood is impure. I'm sorry, Damon. But Jenna's dead, there's nothing you can do about it."

* * *

"The sacrifice is completed in stages as the full moon sets." Elijah said, pacing before Alaric and Stefan outside the witches' house.

"First the werewolf is killed, then the vampire. Finally the electi. Once Evanna dies, the curse will be broken. Klaus will become hybrid."

"So when do we attack?" Alaric questioned.

"Evanna's death will activate his dormant werewolf side. He'll be vulnerable during the transformation. That's when Sheila comes in."

"And you're sure Sheila will survive this?"

Elijah nodded,"If she can deliver him to the brink of death, I'll finish the job myself."

Stefan's phone began to ring, and he picked up, walking away from Alaric and Elijah.

"Damon -"

"You're not going to like what I'm about to say, brother." Damon cut him off quickly.

"Cut to the chase. Is the sacrifice happening or not?

"It's happening. I tried to stop it, but it got... complicated."

Stefan sighed,"We're sticking with the original plan. We're meeting Sheila right now."

"He's got Jenna, Stefan."

Stefan froze,"What?"

"He got Katherine to lure her out of the house."

Stefan glanced back at Alaric, worry flooding his face. Alaric narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What is it?" He asked,"What's wrong?"

"He's going to use her as the vampire in the ritual." Damon continued.

Stefan's mouth slowly opened, and he rubbed his forehead.

"Oh, my god."

* * *

Evanna and Jenna were now sitting, and Greta had walked away.

"How are you feeling?" Evanna prodded softly.

"I feel like myself... Only not. Everything is brighter. The fire's hotter. Part of me is terrified, but there's another part of me that doesn't want to feel anything."

Evanna bit the inside of her bottom lip,"Vampires can turn off the part that's human. That's the part that hurts."

Jenna teared up again,"I'm gonna die, aren't I?

"No! I'll fix this. Somehow." Evanna tried her powers again, and the flames budged, but didn't vanquish.

"It's no use." The blonde woman wheezed,"You're not strong enough."

Evanna narrowed her eyes,"You're Jules... the werewolf that killed Rose."

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to run around with vampires?"

Evanna ignored her and turned back to Greta when she came back,"Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature. It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed."

"My duty is to Klaus; the new order."

"Glad to know I still have my dance partner." Klaus beamed, appearing through the trees,"We ready to get started?"

Klaus tossed the moonstone to Greta,"I've got the moonstone. I spent 500 years looking for this. I hate to part with it."

"The moon has passed its apex. Remember everything you need to do?"

"I remember."

Greta threw the moonstone into a bowl, destroying it.

Jules turned to Evanna,"Everything I did... I was just trying to help Tyler."

"I know."

"I didn't want him to be alone."

"He wasn't, and he isn't."

Klaus looked at Jules,"Shall we?"

The fire disappeared, and Jules's transformation began. She tried to run, but Klaus grabbed her and ripped her heart out. Evanna looked away and heard Jenna yelp.

Klaus held Jules's heart over the bowl so that the blood poured into it.

"Does that mean it's working?"

"It's working."

* * *

Jenna and Evanna were talking quietly, sitting on the ground.

They couldn't do anything else.

"The day your mother called and told me they were sending you to Mystic Falls, I knew I'd take you in." Jenna told Evanna,"I thought, maybe, you could help me handle Jeremy and Elena. You've always been like a parent to them, and I needed someone like that. Someone who knew how to take care of people. How selfish was that?"

"You were the only one who could help all of us through everything. I mean, John wasn't the best father figure... You put your entire life on hold to help us, Jen."

"But, look around. I failed."

"No. You didn't. I failed you. I'm so sorry."

Klaus began walking to them again and Evanna knew.

Jenna was next, and Evanna had to do something. She tried to lower the flames again, but they wouldn't diminish. Her panic rose.

"Listen." She drew Jenna's attention back to her and spoke quietly,"Being a vampire, it intensifies your guilt. But it also makes you stronger and faster. You can fight back. I'm gonna get through this. I'll be okay. I need you to believe that. Promise me, when you get the chance... _Run_."

Jenna hesitated, before nodding and whispering back,"Okay."

"Well, hi, Jenna." Klaus greeted, turning his attention back to them and kneeling down in front of her.

Evanna stood up,"Let her go. I understand that I have to die, but she doesn't!"

She stepped closer to the fire and Klaus held up a finger.

"Careful..."

"Evanna, don't!"

"No, Jenna! We can't leave Elena and Jeremy without a family."

Evanna looked back at Klaus, all the while feeling the power inside her get stronger,"I followed your rules; I did everything that you asked. I didn't run. Please."

"Well, well." Klaus began,"I don't recall you being on the guest list."

"I'm here to talk."

Jenna and Evanna turned their heads to look at Stefan.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Salvatore?"

"You don't need to kill Jenna." Stefan began,"I'll take her place."

"Oh, I don't know. I rather appreciate the symmetry of three women- three goddesses- sacrificed at nature's altar."

"Don't play games with me. You'll get what you want either way."

"You're quite the hero, aren't you? I've heard that about you."

"Just make the trade. Me for Jenna."

"Quite the predicament. You know, it's funny, all this talk about preserving family, and here's Stefan, granting your wish."

Evanna turned to Stefan,"Stefan..."

"It's okay."

"Well, who's it going to be Evanna? Actually, there is no choice." Klaus grinned, and plunged a stake through Stefan's back, pushing him unceremoniously to the ground.

Klaus headed for Jenna and the flames disappeared around her.

Evanna closed her eyes, trying to diminish the flames around her. Klaus bit into Jenna's neck, and Evanna began to panic. Jenna was close to dying by the time Evanna got the flames down.

She lunged at Klaus, and threw him into a tree. Jenna slumped to the ground and Evanna prayed she was alive.

"I'll let that slide." Klaus said, brushing himself off, speeding over and grabbing Evanna around the throat so her back was pressed against his front, her head angled painfully to one side so he had easy access to her neck.

"Go to hell." Evanna told him before he bit her.

Evanna felt the life drain out of her and felt her heartbeat stop. Jenna wasn't moving, but Stefan watched it all happen. He mouthed his forgiveness to her as Evanna's eyes closed.

She was dead.

* * *

Despite the ritual not being completed, the main power source (Evanna) had caused a drastic speed up of the effects, and Klaus was feeling it all.

"It's happening!" Klaus exclaimed, chuckling in amazement.

Suddenly, Klaus was thrown back into the same tree Evanna had thrown him into. Sheila appeared, looking as distraught as she felt.

Nothing better than a vengeful witch.

The sight of her granddaughter's body only proved to make her stronger.

Damon appeared behind Greta, and Caroline arrived, and scooped Jenna up, unable to look at her best friend's body,"I'm getting her to a hospital!"

Caroline disappeared with Jenna as Damon snapped Greta's neck. Elena, Alaric, Jeremy and John were still safely locked away in the witches' manor. Sheila made sure Klaus suffered as Damon pulled the stake from Stefan's back.

"Get Evanna out of here."

Damon nodded, and picked up Evanna's lifeless body, carrying her away from the scene. He put her in the backseat of his car and stared at her sadly before getting in and driving.

* * *

When Klaus was at his weakest, Sheila stopped attacking him.

Elijah appeared and Klaus stared up in shock,"Elijah?"

"Hello, brother." Elijah put his arm on Klaus's chest,"In the name of our family, Nicklaus."

"I didn't bury them at sea! Their bodies are safe. If you kill me, you'll never find them."

"Don't listen to him, Elijah!" Stefan yelled, falling into place beside Sheila.

"I can take you to them. I give you my word... Brother."

"Do it and I take you both out." Sheila said.

"You'll die." Elijah reminded her.

"I don't care."

"I'm sorry."

Before either of them could move, Elijah and Klaus were gone.

* * *

Damon carried Evanna's body into the witches' manor and set her gently on the couch, brushing the hair from her face.

"If you come back as a vampire, I'll stake you myself. So, don't." Damon told her lifeless body, continuing to brush her curls away from her peaceful face.

He stroked her cheek,"Because I can't stand the idea of you hating me forever."

Jeremy and Elena ran into the room, followed by John and Alaric.

"Is she...?" Jeremy asked, unable to say 'dead'.

"Yeah." Damon nodded.

"She'll come back."

"As a vampire."

"No, Damon..." Alaric began,"The witches told Sheila that the _essence _of the ring would save her. She'll come back as a witch."

"Why wasn't I told this?"

"We couldn't find you most of the day." John shrugged, suddenly turning and walking out.

Elena glanced around,"Where's Jenna?"

"Caroline took her to the hospital."

"She's not dead?" Jeremy asked, feeling his stomach flip.

"I don't know, Evanna attacked Klaus before he could kill Jenna."

Outside, John went around the back of the house, smiling up at the night sky. He had felt it creeping up on him the second Sheila took the spell of his ring, and he knew now that it was his time.

Inside, Evanna's body suddenly jerked and she flew forwards, gripping the back of the sofa and Damon's arm as air filled her lungs.

"Evanna!"

"Damon?"

"How do you feel?" He asked her and she frowned, tilting her head.

"I feel fine..."

* * *

Evanna was numb.

Strolling down the empty road, not caring that there were pavements on either side of her, she felt utterly lost.

The words of the doctor rang through her head; '_I'm sorry, but neither of them have made it. Jenna's blood loss... it was too much, and John's heart just gave out. Please, if you or your family need anything...'_

She had gently told Elena and Jeremy what he had told her, and had told Alaric that she was just going outside for air, only to keep walking the second she strode through the double doors.

She knew about the spell, the one that saved her life, and the guilt she felt was driving her crazy.

Her entire body felt weak, and even though there were no tears, she was crying on the inside.

Evanna paused mid-step, looking over her shoulder suspiciously. Frowning, she turned back and jumped.

Damon stood not a few feet away from her, his blue eyes soft.

"How did you find me?" She asked him.

"Small town," Damon shrugged,"Rick said you disappeared."

"I didn't mean to."

Damon held out his hand for her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I'm taking you home. Elena called your parents a little while ago, they're at the house."

"I don't want to go home."

"Well, where do you want to go?"

"Nowhere," Evanna replied, planting herself on the curb.

Damon sighed, and sat down beside her,"Then we'll stay here."

"You don't have to stay with me."

"I want to."

Evanna glanced at him sideways, and managed a small, sad smile. Wordlessly, she lay her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her back.

"Good, 'cause I don't want you to go."

* * *

By the time Alaric managed to get Elena and Jeremy home, it was the early hours of the morning.

Jeremy immediately went upstairs and barricaded himself in his room. Elena kept wiping tears from her face, though more just cascaded down her cheeks. She flew into Eliza's arms when she saw her, crying into her shoulder.

"Oh, honey, sh. I've got you."

Anthony nodded into the other room at Alaric, leading him into the living room where Sheila was sat.

"I need to know what happened to my brother, and to Jenna, and I need to know now."

Alaric and Sheila shared a look, before diving into the long and complicated story of Klaus.

Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to keep his emotions at bay,"And where is my daughter?"

"Damon is with her." Alaric informed,"She's safe."

Anthony nodded,"Eliza is already planning the funeral, but the matter of guardianship still needs to be discussed. I am unable to get a job transfer, and I know the kids won't want to uproot and move to Richmond -"

"I'll be their guardian." Sheila piped up,"Gladly."

"I can sign as their co-guardian." Alaric nodded.

Anthony's eyes turned to Alaric again,"Please, don't feel obligated to do this."

"I don't. I want to."

Anthony nodded, shaking Alaric's hand,"Thank you. If you ever need anything, I'm a call away. So is my wife."

"Evanna!" They heard Elena call from the kitchen, and walked out to greet the girl.

Elena wrapped her arms around Evanna tightly,"Oh, my God, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Where's Jeremy?"

"Upstairs. I figured we'd let him sleep while we figure out funeral arrangements."

Eliza shook her head, hugging her daughter,"No, you girls go to bed. This is our responsibility."

"Mom -"

"Honey, don't argue with your mother." Eliza said, pointing upstairs,"This is not something you should worry about."

Elena and Evanna shared a look before sighing, and heading upstairs. Before she passed him, however, Evanna reached out and squeezed Damon's hand. He squeezed back, giving her a gentle smile.

Alaric turned to Damon,"You staying?"

"Of course I am, Rick. Stefan's on his way too."

* * *

The next morning, Evanna got dressed in a daze.

The day she would be attending both Jenna and John's _funerals_ was one she could have never imagined. It didn't seem real.

Smoothing down her black skater dress, she finished curling her hair and applying her makeup.

Noel and Raina appeared in the doorway, alongside Jeremy and Elena.

"I'm almost ready." She told them, finishing putting her earrings in.

"Take your time." Noel shook his head.

Jeremy took something from his pocket,"John wanted me to give you this."

Evanna hesitantly took the envelope, looking inquisitively at Elena.

"I got one too." Elena said tearfully.

Evanna nodded,"Okay, well, let me just grab a few things and I'll be down."

Raina reached out and squeezed her little sister's shoulder before following the other three out, closing the door behind herself.

Evanna sighed heavily, sitting down on her window seat and slowly taking the paper from the envelope.

_Dear Evanna,_

_I can almost imagine what you are thinking right now. You're thinking; God, John, why are you so stupid?_

Evanna chuckled sadly and continued reading.

_But what you don't understand is that my decision was far from stupid. It's the reason you're alive, and please, don't feel guilty. It was __my__ decision, and I knew the risks. There is only one thing I ask of you in return; please, don't let this life hold you back. _

_Be careful, and most of all, stay who you are. _

_I didn't, and I regret that because it is how I ended up on such bad terms with you, and with Elena, and everyone else._

_I can't tell you enough how sorry I feel that our family ever drifted apart._

_It's time for me to go now, but remember; I'm proud of you, I love you, and I'm sorry._

_Your __favorite__ uncle,_

_ John._

Evanna refolded the letter, and set it to one side. Her bleary-eyed gaze rose from the floor to land on Damon.

She shook her head slightly, her lower lip quivering and her eyes big and sad,"I'm not okay."

Damon nodded,"I know."

He wrapped her in his arms and cradled her to her chest as she cried.

* * *

All through the funeral, Damon remained by her side, and for that, she was thankful.

Through the church, through the burial, and through the sympathetic looks from everyone who turned out to bid Jenna and John goodbye, he was there, holding her hand.

It was treacherous, and Evanna couldn't count how many times she just wanted to run away.

The only time Damon slipped away from her was when she approached the new graves and set the two roses down in front of the family tombstone.

He met up with Stefan at the edge of the medium-sized crowd, and the brothers spoke amongst themselves.

"We're going to head back to the house." Stefan announced, joining up with his older brother.

Damon absentmindedly scratched his forearm,"I think I'll skip the coffee and tea cakes."

"Damon, they need us right now. All of us."

"And then what's the plan, Stefan? The curse is broken. How does one go about killing an all-powerful wolf vamp and his two-faced older brother?"

"I have no idea."

"We need to get an idea. _Fast_."

"We will, nobody else is gonna die."

"I wouldn't make any promises, brother."

Stefan frowned,"What's that supposed to mean?"

Damon sighed, and rolled his sleeve up, showing Stefan the bite,"Tyler Lockwood bit me."

Ignoring the anguish that flooded Stefan's face, he continued,"It's actually more of a nip, really, but there it is."

Stefan grasped Damon's arm and examined it under the sunlight,"We'll find something. A cure."

"There is no cure, Stefan."

"Well, we kept Evanna human, right?" Stefan reasoned desperately,"We found the way when there was no way. Hey."

Damon turned his head to face Stefan.

"I will do this."

Damon pursed his lips,"You want to do something for me? Keep this from Evanna. Last thing she needs is another grave to mourn."

With that, Damon walked back towards the girl in question as she immersed herself back into the crowd, rubbing her back softly in comfort.

As Jeremy stepped up, Evanna looked up at Damon and mouthed.

_Thank you._


	22. Chapter 22

**Vampire Diaries**

**Here it is; last chapter of season 2! I'll be quick in starting Season 3, and it'll be on my profile, much like this one was.**

**Anyway, enjoy and review! :)**

* * *

"And your Mom was just cool with it?" Elena asked, her eyes wide as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Well, no." Evanna frowned, sat on the counter in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee,"She didn't like that she'd been kept out of the loop and that I was in danger, neither did Dad, but... she was just calm."

Elena shrugged,"How long has she known about witches and vampires?"

"Well, Dad must have told her about the council or something and she said Grams told her after Mom married Dad; like, warning her that one of her kids could possibly be born waving a magic wand..."

Elena laughed slightly,"Well, it's cool that they know, right?"

Evanna shrugged,"I guess. I'm just so used to being secretive about this stuff, it's a little weird talking about it with my _parents_."

Elena brushed her thumb along the rim of her mug before asking hesitantly,"Aunt Liza didn't say anything about custody, did she? I mean, with Jenna... dead, I figured we'd have to talk about it."

"Grams and Alaric have it covered. That's what I was told."

Elena smiled wryly,"So, Alaric's like our father-figure now?"

"Kinda." Evanna snorted,"He was already your step-dad."

"That's too weird to think about." Elena scrunched up her face, and then clapped her hands, standing up.

"Okay, I'm gonna go take a shower and we can meet up with the girls then. You want to wake up Jeremy?"

**"**Sure."

* * *

Damon winced as he moved his arm, tendrils of pain shooting up his arm when he rose his hand in order to slip his ring from his finger.

He wasn't stupid. His bite was getting worse, and he'd seen what had happened to Rose.

Damon set the ring on the table, standing in the living room, in the shade. He stepped into the sunlight, and allowed his skin to burn.

He was just beginning to feel the heat when suddenly, he was tackled back into the shade.

"Get off me." Damon struggled with Stefan, who refused to let up.

"You're not doing this."

"Just did. You know what happened to Rose, Stefan."

"I don't care; you're not dying today."

Stefan used his enhanced speed to pick up his brother and throw him in the cellar, locking the door securely behind him.

"What's the plan, Superman?" Damon asked sarcastically, propping himself on his elbows.

"I'm gonna find a way out of this."

"Oh, right. A miracle cure. Good luck with that one."

"I have Sheila looking for something -"

"You told Sheila?! I told you to keep this from Evanna."

"Sheila promised not to tell her. She'll find something, anything."

"Always the hero, Stefan. Just tell me goodbye, get it over with."

Damon's usual attitude wore off when his body was racked with coughs. He spat up blood and fell back to the ground, weak.

Stefan looked on, worried, before walking away.

"Lie still. Conserve your strength."

* * *

Sheila set down another set of grimoires with a frustrated huff.

She'd been searching since the early hours of the morning and had yet to find anything solid. The front door opened, and she jumped, whirling around to face her daughter.

"Woah, mom." Eliza laughed,"It's just me."

"Oh, sorry, honey."

Eliza walked into the living room, picking up one of the large, leather bound books,"Grimoires, huh? What are you looking for?"

"A cure." Sheila replied.

"For what?"

"Damon."

"Stefan's older brother? The vampire? What's wrong with him?"

"He got bitten by a werewolf."

"How bad is it?"

"It's not too bad yet, but there was another vampire, her name was Rose and she got bitten." Sheila took a deep breath,"It wasn't good, which is why we're on strict orders not to tell Evanna."

Eliza frowned,"Why not?"

"Damon doesn't want her to know. I'm not sure why."

Eliza shrugged,"I won't breathe a word of it, but I can help. Pass me a grimoire."

* * *

After convincing Alaric to get out of the house too, Evanna met up with the gang in town.

There was a special playing of 'Gone With The Wind', and apparently, some die-hard fans had decided to dress up.

Evanna reached her friends and flopped onto the blanket, staring up at the clouds. Elena and Jeremy hadn't arrived yet, but Meredith and Caroline were already busy setting up.

"Good morning!" Caroline tried to beam, and she was rewarded with a small smile.

"Morning." Evanna replied.

"I still can't believe you actually died." Meredith said,"I mean, you're here, and you _look _like normal."

"It was weird, Mere." Caroline said, clearly troubled,"She was just laying there. I was expecting her to wake up and scream 'boo!' at any second."

Evanna pushed her body upwards again,"I'm sorry you had to see that, Care. I didn't ask, but ... what happened while I was dead?"

"From what Stefan described," Meredith grinned,"Your Grams was kick-ass. Damon killed Greta and took you back, and Sheila and Stefan fought Klaus."

"And then Elijah changed things up..." Evanna finished,"A part of me knew it was a possibility."

"Elijah changing teams?"

Evanna nodded at Caroline,"I mean, they're brothers. When Damon was bad, Stefan didn't want to kill him."

"True." Meredith glanced up,"Oh, I see Tyler and Matt."

"They're buddies again?"

Caroline nodded,"Matt came to help us last night; Damon had to knock him out so he didn't get hurt."

"So, he knows everything?"

"Most of it."

Soon enough, Jeremy and Elena arrived.

Jeremy copied Evanna and flopped down on the blanket, except, he flopped down on _her_.

Evanna looked at the boy in her lap,"Was that necessary?"

"Yes, yes it was. You brought me to see a chick flick."

"We had to get out of the house, Jer. This is our 3-hour distraction from reality." Elena sighed.

"Three hours?!" Evanna exclaimed,"I could have just read the book three times over."

Meredith snorted, nudging Evanna,"Book nerd."

Evanna stuck her tongue out at her and laughed.

"So, is this what we're doing?" Jeremy asked,"Pretending like our lives aren't screwed?"

"We need to do this, okay? Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again until one day, it's just not as hard anymore." Elena sighed, earning nods of agreement from the girls.

Jeremy sighed.

"Is there food?"

Caroline tossed a wrapped up sandwich onto his torso,"Duh... knock yourself out. We are going to take a page from Scarlett. We made it through the war. I know you guys went through hell, and my mom knows I'm a vampire, so basically it's like Atlanta has burned. And yet, in spite of everything, we persevere."

* * *

"I'm not sure this is going to work." Sheila said as she and Stefan stepped into the abandoned house.

After a few hours, Eliza had had to leave in order to join her husband and Alaric as they sorted out guardianship, but made her mother promise she would keep them updated. Meanwhile, Raina and Noel had already had to return to Richmond for college, and Eliza and Anthony were gearing up to leave the next morning.

"You've done a séance before, right? Maybe one of the witches might know how to help Damon."

"Let's just hope they want to."

Voices began whispering around them, and Stefan frowned.

"Sheila? Sheila?"

Sheila opened her eyes after casting the spell.

"Emily..."

Sheila turned, and Stefan noticed something different. Emily had taken over Sheila's body.

"Why have you come here, Stefan?"

"I need your help. I need to know if there's a spell that can heal a werewolf bite."

"No. Nature ensures a balance to everything."

"Is that true... or are you just saying no because it's Damon?"

"Perhaps it is his time to die."

"No. That's not balance. That's punishment."

"I will not give you what you want."

"So you're saying that there's an answer to give? Please, if you know something, just tell me. Help me save my brother."

Sheila screamed and fell to the ground. Stefan rushed to help her up,"Sheila!"

"They don't want us here. They think I'm abusing their power."

"They know something. There's an answer. They just don't want to tell me."

"I heard them say a name, Stefan."

"What was it?"

"Klaus."

* * *

Stefan finally got down to the town square just as the movie was beginning, and Elena greeted him with a kiss.

"Look who couldn't resist an epic romance..." Evanna drawled teasingly.

Stefan's serious expression never wavered,"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure..." Evanna shrugged, pulling herself up and following him off.

Jeremy frowned, watching them go,"Caroline -"

"Already eavesdropping, Jer."

Evanna followed Stefan to a tree,"I'm breaking your girlfriend's rules, you know. Movie night's supposed to be a distraction. Tomorrow we can return to our regularly scheduled drama."

"I know. I wish this could wait, but it can't. Listen, um, the other night when Damon was helping Tyler, something happened. Tyler was starting to transform, and Damon was bitten."

Evanna's world froze,"Is he ... is he gonna...?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, my God. I-I didn't know."

"That's because he told me not to tell you, but I figured if you wanted to talk to him, I... I wouldn't wait."

"Stefan..."

"It's not over. There might be a cure, but I have to find Klaus to get it."

"He'll kill you."

"No, he had the chance to kill me, but he didn't. Whatever Damon's done, whatever has led him here, I'm the one that made him become a vampire in the first place, so if there's a chance for a cure, I owe it to him to find it. Go talk to him. Just tell him that there's still hope."

Stefan walked away and Evanna came back to the group, picking up her purse.

"I gotta..."

"Go." Caroline nodded, having yet to explain everything to the others,"Give him a hug from me."

"I will."

* * *

Alaric watched Damon go through another hallucination and sipped from his scotch bottle.

He had been that way when Alaric arrived, which had only been around fifteen minutes before. Everything was settled, and he was now Elena, Jeremy and Evanna's guardian. Just like that.

Alaric grimaced at the bottle of scotch; getting drunk at noon probably wasn't the best start at that...

Finally, Damon snapped out of his hallucination, and looked at his bite.

"Well, that looks bad." Alaric commented, drawing the sickly vampire's attention.

"It feels worse. My subconscious is haunting me, Rick. Please tell me you have something for that."

Alaric put a glass of scotch on the door window, placing his sunlight ring next to it,"Double shot."

He poured another, and Damon got up and took his ring,"Oh good."

Damon drank the glass empty,"So, my brother sent you for suicide watch?"

"He's just trying to help."

"He's doing what he always does, trying to right the wrongs of the past." Damon groaned, clearly hurt,"You should want me dead. I'm the reason Jenna's dead."

"I don't blame you for Jenna." Alaric said, taking another shot.

"Oh, sure you do. Let's not forget I turned your wife into a vampire. You must really hate me for that one."

"Okay, give me your glass. Neither one of us is drunk enough for this conversation."

Damon rushed at him and strangled him through the bars,"Kill me, please."

Alaric broke away and rubbed his throat,"Screw you."

He injected Damon with vervain, making him fall back onto the floor.

"No..." Damon's head lolled to one side, and a frown settled on his pale face,"Evanna..."

"Evanna's not here, Damon."

* * *

Evanna parked her car beside Damon's and got out.

She began walking towards the door but when she sensed something. She turned around and jumped, but a hand clamping down on her mouth the gasp from leaving her lips. Sheriff Forbes shook her head.

"Don't make a sound."

* * *

"Blood. I need blood." Damon choked.

Alaric nodded, standing up and heading for the fridge. He took a blood bag and turned, only to see Sheriff Forbes standing there with a gun.

"Where's Damon?"

"You know, now's not a good time, Sheriff. Trust me."

"Sheriff, over here!" A deputy called, opening up the cellar door.

"I wouldn't go in there!" Alaric warned, being held back by two deputies.

"I just wanna talk to him."

"Sheriff Forbes, don't!"

Liz ignored him and stepped inside. She didn't see Damon anywhere, but that was because he was behind her.

"Liz..." She turned and he threw her against the wall. Damon sped out of the cellar and disappeared.

* * *

The group were indulging in normal conversation when Elena's phone began to ring.

"Hey, Alaric."

"_Please _tell me Evanna's with you."

"No, she went to see Damon. I thought that's where you were?"

"No, he just escaped. I think he's looking for her, and the cops are after _him_. Listen, he's in bad shape, so if you find her, get her somewhere safe, okay? I'm on my way."

Elena hung up,"Damon's gone missing and Evanna's phone is going to voice mail."

"You think Damon took her?" Caroline asked, not believing her own words.

"Or going to. We should find her." Jeremy said, standing up.

"If Damon is off the rails, there is nothing you can do to stop him. Let us take care of it." Elena shook her head, standing up too.

"No! She's my cousin, too, you know."

"Jer, how about this? Go to Sheila's, and ask her to do a locator spell." Meredith offered as she and the girls took off.

Jeremy sighed and set off in the opposite direction.

It was better than doing nothing.

* * *

Jeremy stopped halfway to Elena's car and pulled out his phone.

He sent a quick text to Sheila, and she replied saying she'd join them soon. He told her he'd be in the Grill and headed there himself. He thought he'd saw someone go inside.

Someone dressed in all black...

* * *

Damon glanced around the Grill, and spotted the Katherine hallucination that had been plaguing him earlier.

"Damon!"

Damon whirled around to face Jeremy,"Where's Evanna? I need to see her, _now_."

"Okay. Let's get you out of here first, all right?"

* * *

Evanna was getting tired of Liz's office very quickly.

They'd taken her phone away! Liz came in, and Evanna noticed a red mark on her forehead, one that would turn into a bruise. Evanna knew bruises by now.

"Where's Damon? What have you done to him?"

"Why do you even care? You know what they are, what they do."

"Look, I understand why you hate them, but you're wrong."

"They're murderers, Evanna. End of story."

A deputy poked his head in the door and Evanna turned, frustratedly running her hands through her hair.

"Damon Salvatore was just spotted outside entering The Grill."

Evanna spun around,"Wait. You've gotta let me come with you. He's sick. He's... he's not himself."

The deputy glanced at Liz, waiting for her orders.

Liz shook her head,"Keep her here."

* * *

"Hey, Sheila." Jeremy said into his phone,"Damon's with me at the Grill."

"Alright, I'm just round the corner."

"'Kay, bye."

Jeremy hung up and looked at Damon. He glanced over Damon's shoulder and spotted Liz. Damon did too, and just as Liz took aim with her gun, Damon sped away.

The bullet pierced Jeremy's heart and he dropped to the ground as Damon escaped.

Liz ran over to him,"Oh, my God! Oh, God!"

Caroline sped in the door, Elena and Meredith in tow. She'd heard the gun shot and had run.

"Mom!"

"Jeremy!" Elena screamed, falling down beside her brother,"No, no, no."

"Mom, what did you do?!"

"I was aiming for Damon."

Meredith picked up Jeremy's hand,"He's wearing his ring."

"Mom's human." Caroline reminded her.

"He can't be dead!"

Caroline moved over and bit her wrist, placing it over Jeremy's lips.

"It won't work."

They all looked to see Sheila standing before them.

"He's dead."

* * *

A thought hit Evanna, and she smiled.

The police station wasn't too far from the Grill, and... she was a witch. In a few seconds, the guard watching her was feeling the full effects of a sleeping spell, and a chair was crashing through the window. Evanna jumped out and took off full speed for the Grill. She threw open the door and heard her Grams.

"I can use magic to bring him back, but I need Evanna too."

Evanna's heart stopped. Was Damon dead? She skidded to a halt when she saw the body.

"Jeremy!"

She fell down beside her Grams,"What happened?!"

"It was an accident." Liz cried,"How did you get here?"

"Glass windows break sometimes. Grams, what do we need to do?"

"Take my hand."

Evanna did so, and Sheila mumbled the spell. Evanna didn't have to cast it too, Sheila just needed to draw from her magic. Evanna heard the voices of the witches and opened her eyes in disbelief.

"What's going on?" Elena cried, rocking Jeremy slightly.

"He's dead. They say waking him up will mess with the balance of life and death."

"Alright, that's it!" Evanna exploded,"Either you save his life or your precious electi goes and offers herself to Klaus and the _entire _balance is screwed. Your choice!" Evanna lowered her voice,"He's innocent..."

Finally, the entire room changed and the two witches felt their powers grow stronger.

Evanna quickly grabbed Sheila's hand again and they began the spell. Right before Jeremy woke up, Emily Bennett's voice was loud and clear as she addressed Evanna.

"There will be consequences."

* * *

Elena was clutching onto Jeremy for dear life, even as he chuckled.

"Elena, I'm okay."

"You were dead, Jer. First Evanna, and Jenna and John, and then you... my heart can't take that much fear."

Jeremy pulled his sister into a hug,"Hey, it's okay."

Caroline was calming Liz down and explaining everything. Apparently it was news that witches existed too.

Sheila, Meredith and Evanna were discussing how to find Damon, and decided on a plan.

"Okay," Evanna began to her family/friends,"The three of us are gonna split up. It'll draw less attention from the deputies. You guys stay here and be careful. Elena, keep your phone on you."

Everyone nodded and Jeremy slipped his ring off his finger.

"Hey, Mer! Take this."

"Jeremy, you should keep it."

"Mere," Caroline stepped up,"I can protect Jeremy. Sheila and Evanna have their powers to protect them. Damon could attack you. Isn't that a symptom?"

Evanna nodded,"Insane blood thirst..."

Meredith sighed and relented, slipping on the ring.

"Thanks, Jer."

"Be careful." Elena called,"All of you."

* * *

Evanna jumped over a shrub behind the movie screen in town.

It had gotten dark while they'd been in the grill, adding much more terror to the situation. She walked away from the screen a bit and stopped, looking both ways.

"Evanna..."

Evanna spun around and let out a breath of relief,"Damon."

She ran over to him and grabbed his arm gently, pulling him towards where Elena had parked her car. Elena wouldn't mind if she borrowed it, especially not now.

"Hey, come on. Come on. We have to get you out of here. We have to hide you."

"Where are we going?"

Something happened then; his eyes glazed over and Evanna recognized the look. Rose had gotten it when she'd hallucinated.

"Damon..." She prodded in a soft whisper.

Damon looked at her, and for a second she thought he'd snapped out of it. Her back connected painfully with the steel pole, and Damon's body pressed up against hers, keeping her in place. One hand was around her neck, not choking though, and the other was resting on her hip.

"Hey, hey, Damon, relax." She told him,"We have to go."

"You're so beautiful..." He whispered out, his eyes flashing to her neck.

Evanna swallowed thickly,"Hey, hey. Damon, don't do this."

"I have to... If we are to be together forever."

He bent down and settled his head between her collarbone and jaw. He pressed a gentle kiss on her neck before biting down and drinking her blood. Evanna's mouth fell open, and her knees buckled, but he was keeping her up.

"Damon, stop. You're hurting me. Damon, you don't have to do this. Please stop. You're hurting me!"

He pulled away roughly and licked his bottom lip clean,"Evanna?"

"Damon..." He fell to his knees, and his head went in his hands.

She dropped down beside him, holding her neck and sliding her hand around his back.

"I'm so sorry." He mumbled brokenly, leaning his head on her uninjured collarbone.

Evanna looked around.

She needed to get him home.

* * *

Elena and Meredith sat in the kitchen, staring anxiously at the phone.

Stefan had yet to call, and Evanna hadn't called since she'd found Damon, either. Alaric, Eliza, Anthony and Jeremy walked into the room and joined them.

"No news?" Alaric asked, sighing.

Elena shook her head,"Nope."

"Do you know how Damon's doing?"

"He bit Evanna." Meredith answered Jeremy,"She's okay, though."

"Think Stefan will find a cure?" Jeremy asked next, unscrewing a water bottle cap.

Elena sighed.

"We can only hope."

* * *

Evanna texted and told her grandmother she'd found Damon and was taking him home.

_Do you want me to come too?_

Evanna glanced at Damon's seat. He was staring at the passing scenery, lost and confused. Evanna had to drive with one hand, as Damon kept a firm grip on her other. Not the safest way, but you try pull your hand away from a vampire.

Evanna parked, and Damon seemed to recognize where he was. He let go of her and she texted her grandmother back.

_No. It's ... bad. _

Her phone beeped again.

_Will you be okay?_

Evanna ignored it and didn't answer. She didn't have an answer.

"Come on, Damon, let's get you inside."

* * *

Evanna stopped by the doorway and observed Damon for a moment.

He looked so ... broken in his bed. He was too hot to go under the covers, which was why Evanna had gotten the cold, wet towel to put on his forehead. She climbed onto the bed next to him and dabbed his forehead with it.

He stirred and opened his eyes,"Evanna..."

"It's okay, Damon. I'm here."

"Evanna, get out of here. I could hurt you."

"No. You won't. I'm here until the very end. I'm not leaving you."

"Get out of here." Damon coughed and cried out as another shot of pain went through his body.

Evanna winced and put her arms around him, laying his head on her chest,"Hey, sh, hang on. It's okay."

"It's not okay. It's not okay. All those years, I've blamed Stefan. No one forced me to love Katherine. It was my own choice."

"Ssh."

"I made the wrong choice. You tell Stefan I'm sorry. Okay?"

Evanna nodded and dabbed his face softly.

"I will."

* * *

Jeremy typed away on his laptop.

He could hear Meredith and Elena talking in her room, and the adults were out back.

Jeremy heard something downstairs and frowned, setting his laptop on the bed. He climbed down the stairs and entered the kitchen. He felt something behind him and turned around, only to see nothing.

"Jer..." He heard from behind him and turned around in shock.

"Vicki?"

A breeze settled on his other side and he turned.

"Anna?"

* * *

Another half hour passed with pretty much the same results.

"This is pitiful..." He groaned.

"There's still hope."

"I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die."

"No, you don't."

"I do, Evanna. It's okay. 'Cause if I'd have chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you. I'm so sorry. Done so many things to hurt you."

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"I know you think we can't be together, but I ..."

"Sh..." Evanna didn't care; she teared up,"I know."

Damon raised his arms and she settled into them, laying her head on his chest,"You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me."

"Hey..." She scolded gently,"I like you now. You're the best pain in the ass a girl could have."

Damon closed his eyes, a small smile on his face.

Evanna reached up and kissed him slowly, her chaste way of saying goodbye. She pulled back, and he was so still that it sent a pang of heart-stopping fear through her.

"Thank you..." He said, barely audible.

"You're welcome." Evanna nodded, allowing the tear to slip down her cheek.

"Well, it's me you should be thanking..."

Evanna jumped, swinging around and wiping her face.

Katherine tilted her head and smirked,"I am the one who brought the cure."

Evanna stepped out of the way as Katherine tipped down Damon's chin and poured the blood into his mouth.

Evanna watched the colour return to his skin, and was relieved to see they really weren't too late.

"You got free."

"Yep." Katherine nodded at him,"Finally."

"And you came here...?"

Katherine tapped his cheek,"I owed you one."

Katherine rolled off the bed and glanced at her doppelganger's cousin,"I thought you were dead."

Evanna shrugged,"I was..."

She pulled out her phone and saw a text from Elena.

_Is Stefan home?_

Evanna glanced at Katherine again,"Where's Stefan?"

"Paying for this." Katherine said, showing her the vial,"He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon."

"What do you mean, 'he gave himself over'?"

"He just sacrificed everything to save his brother, including you. It's a good thing you have Damon to keep you company. Don't know what Elena's gonna do. Anyway, I'm out of here. Bye, lovebirds."

Damon propped himself on his elbows, looking almost back to normal. His eyes met Evanna's and she bit the inside of her lip.

Where did they go from there?


End file.
